Deformity is an Understatement
by cgaussie
Summary: The first Installment of the Epic tales of myself and Invader Poe. Reject Poe is sent to Earth, up to when Zim leaves for a mission on the Moon.
1. Chapter 1

Deformity is an Understatement  
Written by Cartman's Girl and Invader Poe  
  
Notes: Since something botched, here is the story all over again. But now, with shorter chapters for you busy folk. Enjoy!  
  
~*~  
  
Chapter One (since I'm too bored to think up proper names!)  
  
It was a typical night in the ghettos of Irk - the wind was cold and dusty, howling through the testaments and warehouses that stood in haphazard patterns, the old, abandoned, outgrown and unplanned part of the capital city. The wind tussled the extremely long, half-curled antennae of pale-skinned Irken, jangling the piercings stuck in the sensory organ. He lifted his head from his perch, a rusted garbage container, which he had been rooting around for food in - he was tall and lean, starved, technically an older adolescent but the wear and tear of slum life made him look much older and world-weary. The wind carried voices in it, and he leapt off of his perch with a sort of animal grace, pausing by the opening of the dark alley he was in and listening. Outside, strolling down the road was two older Irkens.  
  
"...and yeah, can you believe it? A Noble of that standards, coming into the slums like this." said the taller one, the shorter Reject furrowed his brow.  
  
"But still, she got that guy out of the slums and back to the Irken society. That's pretty neat... 'n all." the taller Reject shrugged, the two coming to a stop.  
  
"Still, if I had a chance I'd take it like that." he snapped his gloved fingers. He jumped slightly and pulled back into the shadows before they spotted him, but it was too late. He saw them look in his direction and froze, staring at them with almost wild fear, and the shorter Irken tilted his head, looking over at his companion,  
  
"It just me, or does that kid look like that Noble?"  
  
"Hey yeah he does... pale skin and the antennae thing." the taller one said, then nudged his companion in the head. "Whattya wanna bet they're related? Not every day you see a light toned Irken."  
  
"You kiddin? Related to a Noble like that, what's he doin out here?" They shrugged, and the shorter one turned back to the young, darkly-dressed Irken,  
  
"You got a name, kid?" He just stared at them blankly, like he didn't quite comprehend, backing away. The shorter of the two Irkens frowned,  
  
"I don't know, maybe we should leave him alone, he's actin like he got Bit.."  
  
"The Bite?" the taller one eyed the Irken, then waved a hand. "Then there's no hope for him."  
  
"Yeah, let's leave before he--"  
  
"…w…wait." The black-eyed Irken managed, taking a deep breath,  
  
"I can… I can control it… " He folded his antennae back, "Really… I'm… I'm Poe."  
  
"Poe? ...well, hi Poe. I'm Way, and this here is Yeh." Way stood back, his antennae quirking. Poe nodded a greeting at them, then looked back at where they had come,  
  
"Where… did you see this Irken… that'd looked like me?" He had been looking for his parents, after an old local crime lord had dropped an enigmatic hint about them being around and being important in the Irken world after Poe had distracted the Patrollers for him.  
  
"Oh, Noble Xyth." Yeh nodded, jutting his thumb back the way they came. "She usually comes around here, helping out Rejects as much as she cane."  
  
"I think she's at the old Voot Cruiser Painting Plant." Way added.  
  
"Hm…" He nodded his head at the other Irkens slightly, "…thank you." He wasn't one for many words, and started past them, heading down the road. Yeh and Way watched him walk off, before exchanging glances.  
  
"Nice kid."  
  
"For a Bite victim." with that, the two walked off.  
  
Meanwhile, over at the old Voot Cruiser Painting Plant, a few Rejects were stood outside, looking in through the broken windows. Not every day they saw a Noble, let alone a female Noble in their mist. She, Noble Xyth was looking around the wrecked building, her long curled antennae blowing in the wind gently - and causing a piercing in her left antennae to jangle. Poe wandered up to the crowd hesitantly; he didn't do well around groups, after all. He stood up, straightening his back to see over the other Irkens, tilting his head at the window. The female inside _did_ look sort of like him, but he perished the thought; Yeh and Way were right, how could a garbage-eater possibly be related to a Noble? At that moment, Xyth turned her gaze to the broken windows. She saw the Rejects looking in on her, and she smiled gently. Then she saw Poe looking in on her, and she tilted her head slightly to the side, before turning around to face the group through the windows.  
  
Poe jumped when their eyes almost seemed to meet, and he scrunched back, drumming his fingers together, considering retreating at a fast pace. There was always the chance she recognized him from want posters, after all. Xyth stood taller as he retreated slowly, before walking up to the window, then leaning out through the broken doorway. Some Rejects did start to retreat, even if they knew she was on their side, trusting a Tall Noble was risky business. She spotted Poe again in the group, looking at him with a concerned look, then motioned him to come closer.  
  
"Slark.." he murmured under his breath, but he knew he'd only be in more trouble if he tried to run now, and slowly took a step towards her, then another; for Xyth it was a lot like trying to coerce a wild animal into coming to her. Seeing him come closer she slowly knelt down, getting her dress now rather dirty, not like she minded at all. Now knelt down she sat there waiting for him to come close enough to at least speak with him. Poe finally got within range, looking up at her with his dark eyes, eyes she'd probably only seen on only one other Irken.  
  
"Y… yes, Miss… um… Noble?" He flinched at his lack of etiquette.  
  
"Hello there." she said gently, her voice sounding very soft. Xyth still smiled at him, her antennae tensing slightly as, even if through all the smells he had on him, the young Irken seemed very familiar.  
  
"H-hi," he was still hunched up, trying to disappear into the ground, his antennae limp at the sides of his head in submission and no longer showing their curved shape. "Am I… in… trouble?"  
  
"No dear," Xyth slowly shook her head, before smiling at him gently. "Can I know your name, please?"  
  
"I'm Poe…" He seemed to relax a bit, straightening a bit and showing off some of his true height, he came up past her waist and was still somewhat slumped.   
  
"I thought so." she smiled, "You're not very old, are you Poe?"  
  
"I'm… uh…" He looked down at the ground and thought for a moment, "I think… I'm… 17." Something about this female was making him act well, more kid-like, though. The Noble nodded slightly, before looking at him again.  
  
"I believe I know you, Poe." He paled further, if that was possible, starting to think he _was_ in trouble, "Y-y-you do?"  
  
"Yes, I do." she seemed to sense how he felt, and raised her hands. "It isn't a bad kind of knowing either dear."  
  
"It… isn't?" He asked tentatively, then looked up at her. "How… how do you know me?" She placed her hands in her lap, before bowing her head slightly to him.  
  
"I do believe I'm your Mother." Xyth smiled at him as she raised her head, "For you have my previous mate's eyes, and the name I gave my smeet."  
  
"I… what? But that… that's impossible… I'm just a Reject…"  
  
"I know that Poe." Xyth replied, "You… you were classified as a Reject shortly after you hatched. I couldn't do anything to save you." she closed her eyes, looking slightly upset as remembering it again. "That… you were the reason why I started helping Rejects out… knowing my first smeet was one, I felt I had to do something." He nodded slightly,  
  
"So.. do you think." He folded his antennae back again, staring at the ground. It hadn't been a good night, his illness was starting to come into full bloom, so to speak, and it was making him weak and scared, and the thought that here was his Mother, a tall, powerful Irken, was hard to comprehend. He couldn't stand life here, anymore - anywhere would be better. "You think… you'd be able… to help me?"  
  
"I can only help if you want me to." Xyth replied. "And… I do hope you'll let me."  
  
"I… I hate it here." He glanced around at the buildings, "Everything it's all… it's just too _hard_…" She then slowly held her hand out to him,  
  
"Then, let me help you." Poe looked at her outstretched claw, and reached forward warily, slowly placing his slightly smaller claws onto her's. Xyth smiled at him, before taking his other hand into her free one. Soon Xyth was making her way back through the slums, actually carrying Poe. Not that he needed to, seemed he _wanted_ to be carried by his Mother, since it had never happened to him before in his life. Poe sighed, he felt rather silly of course, he was almost an adult - but he'd never been close, physically or otherwise, to _anyone_ before, unless you count brawls. His eyelids sagged, and he started to nod off, leaning his head on Xyth's shoulder. After some conversation at the gate, Xyth was able to let Poe through.  
  
As soon as they had walked down a small alley way from the Slums to the real Irken city the whole area was jammed packed with Irkens. Short Maids and Butlers or assistances, even robots running about doing errands for their Masters. Voot Cruisers flew over head. Quite noisy, but Xyth kept one hand over the back of Poe's antennae gently to somewhat help drown out the loud noises. 'Course he was scared, startled by all the noises and such, not to mention the fact he'd never even seen this part of the city, and was getting more than a few stares. He managed to not squirm away, though, despite every instinct he had telling him to break away and run.  
  
"It'll be all right Poe." Xyth said quietly into his antennae, feeling his grip on her tighten somewhat. "We'll be out of here soon enough…" she returned some of the glances the two got, but seeing as how she was pretty much towering over most of the Irkens there, they let her be. Poe squeezed his eyes shut and tried to relax, her voice being unusually soothing. It was sort of like a female version of his own voice, actually. The two left the Markets soon enough, entering the upper-crust part of the city.  
  
"We'll be taking a transporter up to the Massive… hopefully I can meet with them." she said as they entered a rather tall purple-ish red building. Inside the main lobby was row upon row of transporter devices, she had to show the guard a special card which allowed herself to enter the Massive, what with a Reject and all. But, after the beaming was done, the two stepped out into another lobby, this one in the Massive. Poe was in awe of all the cleanliness and technology, feeling rather out of place. He was left in a daze by the transportation process, then looked around the ship, seeing an open window along the side of the curved room; that looked out into space and a nearby planet. His eyes widened and he couldn't help but cling to Xyth this time. She smiled slightly and stroked his antennae to calm him down, as she made her way down the long corridor.  
  
"I know Poe, it is breath taking when you see it for the first time." He took a deep breath, counting under his breath in order to control himself and stuffing his face in her shoulder, not caring about his age right now. Soon enough, they were at a pair of big, impressive doors with guards posted outside; these could only lead into one room. Xyth gently placed Poe onto the ground besides him. "Now Poe, you're about to meet the rulers of our planet." she stood up and fixed her antennae's before looking at the guards. "If you please." one guard eyed her over, before rolling his eyes and the two slowly began opening the large doors. Poe regained his footing and looked up at her, then at the door with slight fear, taking a deep breath. There they were, the leaders of one of the universe's most fearsome military force - lounging on lawn chairs and drinking some manner of sugary goop.  
  
"Oh come ON Grisple! You can't leave Saundra for that short as Zlorph!" Purple wailed, throwing a crumpled bag of chips at the large monitor they were watching.  
  
"I still want to watch the Doom and Destruction Channel!" Red whined, folding his arms. "You and your Space Operas, they get too out of control and it's hard to work out what's happening!"  
  
"I knnooowww!" Purple the wailed as spacey-soapy music started playing. Red rolled his eyes, then noticed Xyth and Poe stood at the door way. He bliked, then stood up.  
  
"Yeah…?"   
  
"My Tallest," she bowed respectfully, lifting the sides of her gown in a sort of curtsey. Poe looked confused, and not knowing what else to do he bowed as well and mimicked her curtsey with his trench coat. "I would like to have this young Reject.. re-evaluated."  
  
"Aw, now?" Purple asked from his place on the sofa, pointing at the monitor. "All my Spawnlings is on in five minutes!" Red grabbed the remote and turned the monitor off. "Awww!"  
  
"Right right." Red hovered his way over to the two, just like, over a centimetre taller then Xyth. "So Xyth, another one of the Rejects you found?" he asked.  
  
"Well, yes, but this one is.. special to me." She reached over and set her hand behind Poe's head, while Poe just stared up at them all blankly, "He's my son."  
  
"Ah I see, the one who started your whole little save the Reject thing." Red looked down at Poe, narrowing an eye at him.  
  
"Well!" Purple rose from his seat, "We'll have to deal with him _very_ special-like then." he made his way over to the three.  
  
"Well, I don't want to be biased but…yes, I was hoping…" She held her antennae back slightly, not quite liking their tone, but they _were_ the Tallest after all. Poe shrank back from their scrutinizing looks, but he resisted the urge to hide behind his mother.  
  
"Well we'll need a moment alone with him to see what we can do then." Red claimed, standing to his full height.  
  
"After all, we can't give just any Reject _any_ job."  
  
"Oh, no; all I ask is a normal, decent life for him." Xyth set her hand on Poe's shoulder, and turned to lead him out of the room, "We'll leave you alone, then."  
  
"Right!" a second later the doors slammed shut behind them. The Tallest glanced at each other.  
  
"...did you _see_ what was on his antennae or what??" Purpled asked,  
  
"Hyeah it was like he'd fell into a ring room or something." Red replied, hovering across the room.  
  
"Now... do we really want someone who looks like that around?" Purple paused to think.  
  
"No not really."  
  
"I've GOT it!" Red lifted a finger dramatically.  
  
"What what? Tell meeee!!" Purple whined childishly. Red draped an arm around his co-rulers shoulders.  
  
"Well, it seems to me he looks very dangerous. If he has that 'Bite' thing going around, and it goes off, do we want him around?"  
  
"No, now get to your ideeeaa! Idea!" Purple whined more childishly.  
  
"Send him to Zim!" Red declared, opening his arms out wide as he declared his wonderful Tallest idea. Purple blinked.  
  
"Gasp! But, he might destroy him!" there was a moments pause, and the room erupted into fits of hysterical Tallest laughter. Poe just stared up at Xyth while they waited in silence, and she shrugged helplessly. Soon enough, the doors started to open again, both mother and smeet peering into the chamber with an almost identical hopeful look,  
  
"Have you decided on something, my Tallest…?" She asked.  
  
"Yes, yes we have decided." the two Tallest were over their laughing fit, though Purple was still sniggering now and then.  
  
"We have a grand idea for him! You!" Red pointed to Poe, "How would you like to have a chance to travel?"  
  
"Not globally, _galaxlly_!… is that word?" Purple was met with a glare from Red.  
  
"…travel?" He spoke for the first time since he got on the ship, "Well… I… I guess so… I don't really like Irk that-" Xyth shushed him quickly.  
  
"U-_huhhhh_… well! Just go down to the station down in the hull of the Massive and pick out any Voot Cruiser you want." Red explained, not that they had planned it. Lazy schmucks. Poe's face lit up and he looked up at his Mother. Xyth smiled down at him, then at the Tallest, nodding in gratitude,  
  
"Thank you, my Tallest…" And knowing her leaders' time was limited, she turned out of the room again, Poe following her happily this time. After a moment's pause of being alone, the Tallest exchanged glances.  
  
"...wanna go play Piggy in the Middle with one of the Scientists?" Red asked.  
  
"YAY!" Purple squealed.

Soon enough, Poe and Xyth arrived at the hull. Many many MANY Voot Cruisers were lined up along side each other. Xyth smiled warmly as she looked around, then stopped short. There, not so far away from them stood a General Irken. He was tall, around her height. Black thick antennae jutted out from his head, his black eyes reading over a form which probably explained a new mission. He looked _very_ intimidating, most Invaders getting out of the way for the General as he stalked through the room. Poe was no less intimidated, looking over at Xyth,  
  
"Who… who's that, Nobl-- I mean, um, Mom?" The General flicked his antennae back, picking out Poe's voice in the hangar; it was oddly familiar, after all. He slowly turned, and saw Xyth across the room, as she clearly stood out over all of the Invaders,  
  
"Xyth." He said simply, probably the closest thing to a greeting anyone ever got from him.  
  
"Kantos." she replied in the same manner, then looked down at Poe, before kneeling down to talk with him. "Poe, this is General Kantos. He… he's your Father." Xyth hesitated before saying who he was, due to the fact that it was because of him that Poe had become a Reject in the first place. You see, when Nobles or other such high ranking Irkens would reproduce, they had the choice of raising their own smeets. But _only_ if both parents agreed. After Poe's birth, Kantos had refused to have a Reject for a son, so Poe had been sent off to live in the slums all those years back.  
  
"Hm." Kantos looked down at Poe from over the top of his hi-tech clip board, and Poe blinked in amazement, but the fact he was related to this imposing Irken made him no less at-ease around him. Kantos glanced back at Xyth, "I suppose you've come to give him a new life outside the slums."   
  
"The Tallest have already allowed him to take a Voot Cruiser and travel. He'd be like an aid, looking for new planets." Xyth replied, standing back up again to talk to her previous mate face to face. She wasn't one to be spoken down to, even if they were the same height.  
  
"Hm. It's more productive than living in filth." Maybe that was approval or simple commentary, it was hard to tell with Kantos's constant indifferent tone. Poe had managed to tear himself away from staring at the dark Irken and was peering into the window of a Voot cruiser, afraid to touch it, but looking quite interested; he didn't notice the 'sleeping', folded-up SIR unit in the back. Xyth nodded at Kantos's comment,  
  
"Well I'd hate to keep you waiting, you seem to be needed once again." she gestured to the clip board he held in his hand. Kantos had met Xyth back when he had been doing some usual work in the Northern part of Irk, but he had only been there on a short holiday. Hence how he could have been there to, ehm, conceive Poe and also when he hatched. Kantos glanced back down at his clipboard,  
  
"Yes, I do." He gave her a curt, short nod and walked on by, his black robe trailing behind him. Poe relaxed when the male had left,  
  
"_He's_ my dad?" He shook his head in disbelief, resting his claws on the Voot Cruiser's window. Upon doing this it opened up - some security huh?  
  
"Yes." she nodded in response, then sighed slightly. "He's always busy, and we rarely see each other at all." the Noble shook her head, as if clearing it to find a new topic. She then went to the Voot Cruiser, glancing into it. "You like this one, then?"  
  
"Yeah.. it.." He sought for something intelligent to say, "It looks nice." He frowned a bit at his ignorance, leaning in and poking at the driver's seat. "But.. um.. how would I pilot it?"  
  
"It's easy hon." Xyth reached in and pointed the control panel. "There's Auto-Pilot, luckily so you won't have to worry. It's smart enough to avoid crashes, or meteors and such."  
  
"Oh." He looked down at the seat, then back over at his Mom, "I guess.. this means I have to go now, huh?"  
  
"You better dear, before you get too attached and loose your chance to have a new life." she replied somewhat sadly, but smiled either way. "At least you won't be back in the slums."  
  
"I know, but…" He folded his antennae back and looked around, before walking up to Xyth and hugging her, well, her legs technically, "…thanks, Mom."  
  
"You're very welcome, Poe." she smiled down at him, resting her hands on the back of his head. "I hope you enjoy yourself."  
  
"I'll try." He smiled back up at her, probably the first actual smile she saw on him, and reluctantly pulled away. "Maybe.. I'll see you again someday?" Of course, the chances of that were neigh impossible, but he was, in a way, naive about these things. Xyth smiled gently,  
  
"Oh, I hope so dear. Now go on, before the Tallest change their minds." she knew that very well the rulers so easily changed their mind in nano-seconds. Poe nodded, taking a deep breath and sliding into the Cruiser, settling down into the pilot's seat. This seemed to trigger the window-bubble to snap closed, causing him to jump, a seat belt snapping out of nowhere and restraining him across his chest. He looked somewhat panicked, but nothing else happened; he glanced over the control panel, one of the buttons proclaiming 'START' in Irken.  
  
He squinted; his reading skills weren't the best, after all, and he pressed it hesitantly. The engines suddenly fired, the Cruiser slowly hovering up off the ground. He looked over at Xyth, waving slowly, before he was suddenly yanked away as the thrusters kicked in, the Cruiser blasting off towards the port that allowed entrance and exit, the metallic sphincter twisting open just long enough to allow the Cruiser to pass through. Xyth watched the Cruiser vanish out of sight, the entrance slamming shut. She sighed sadly, turned and made her way back into the Massive to return to Irk, possibly to her Office in North Irk again. After a short moment, the short Invader known as Skoodge arrived on the scene. He stopped in mid-stride, then glanced around. His Voot Cruiser, which he remembered parking in the Double C Slime section was gone! Skoodge glanced around, looking slightly worried. He furrowed his brow before crossing his arms.  
  
"Darnit this is the third time this month!"  
  
[To be continued]


	2. Chapter 2

Deformity is an Understatement  
Written by Cartman's Girl and Invader Poe  
  
~*~  
  
Chapter Two  
  
Meanwhile back in the Voot Cruiser, the SIR unit, still in it's sleeping mode began to stir as the roar of the engines were loud enough to wake anything. It's antennae popped out slowly, followed as the body opened up. Poe was straining at his seat belt to get a good view of the passing stars and planets, which were being passed at a good clip by the Cruiser. The SIR detected an Irken in the Cruiser that was not his master, and jumped to life, red eyes flashing;  
  
"HALT! Identify yourself, you are not the proper owner of this Voot Cruiser!" Poe looked confused at the voice, turning his chair around to face the Sir,  
  
"The… um… The Tallest gave me this one…" The red eyes blazed for a while, before turning from the narrowed look to the normal eye cams.  
  
"…wait, they did?" the SIR unit didn't sound particularly brave _now_. "But still, you're not my Master so… so you better turn this Cruiser around and go back to face the proper authorities! Yes, that's it!"  
  
"I thought Voot Cruisers came with SIR units…" Poe drummed his chin in thought. "Well, look, I'm sorry I'm not your master, but… I don't even know how to turn this thing around and even if I did… Mo-er, Noble Xyth said I should leave before they changed their mind." The SIR turned it's head to the side, and made it's way to the bubble shield, before looking at the controls.  
  
"Well I know how to drive… least, well… Master never did let em fly it…" the robot glanced at Poe, narrowing an eye. "Hmm." Poe frowned. He didn't really want to go back now, not if it meant he might be stuck back in the slums.  
  
"Do you… _really_ need your Master all that much?"  
  
"He's my Master! I was programmed to obey his every command!" came the response. Poe rubbed his forehead. All the stress of the sudden change was starting to get to him, making his illness flare up.  
  
"Well… just… forget about him. There's no.. rule that says you _need_ a Master, is there?"  
  
"Of course there is." the SIR folded it's arms, "That's why we were created in the first place."  
  
"_Fine_," he growled quietly, "I'll be your Master then!"  
  
"..._you_?"  
  
"Why _not_?" The robot almost laughed,  
  
"Well you're not an Invader, I'm only programmed to obey Invaders who went through 50 years of training on Devastus." Poe took a controlled breath and closed his eyes.  
  
"Then… then I'll reprogram you!" Of course he didn't know the first thing about how SIRs operated, but he wasn't thinking too clearly. He received a slightly worried look from the SIR.  
  
"…reprogram me…?" it squeaked. Poe took a controlled breath and closed his eyes.   
  
"I'm not really in the _mood_ to argue.." Poe managed to undo the seatbelt, standing up and looming over the SIR unit, "Come on, I'm sure it won't hurt or anything." The robot backed up quickly, now very afraid of the tall Irken.  
  
"B-b-but I don't want to be re-reprogrammed...!" Poe wasn't usually good at being mean, but he didn't look at all well right now, his lip twitching, eyes squeezed shut,  
  
"Please… _Just_… cooperate… I don't want to loose my temper…" He started towards the SIR, one step bringing him to the robot's place, and opened his eyes, examining the dark metal, "Where's your… eh… control… panel thing?" The robot, now backed up against the wall stared at Poe with it's eye cams wide in terror, and covered his front, which had the red square on it.  
  
"Get away from me!" it cried. Poe glanced down at the panel.  
  
"Good enough.." He leaned down and pressed the button that opened the hatch - at the same time shutting the SIR unit off. The lights on the SIR suddenly dimmed and it slumped, and Poe peeked into the open hatch; he winced at the intracit mess of electronics, but there were a few labels here and there; he saw a bundle of wires labelled 'Master' and started fiddling around, reattaching a few things; He figured he could try again until he got it right. He snapped the panel close, and waited for the robot to reactivate. Slowly the eye cams faded from the black 'off' mode to red. But, seemed there was something off about the robot now, it didn't look scared of Poe anymore. It lifted it's head to look up at Poe, blankly at first. Then the eye cams narrowed, and the actual colour of the robot changed. It had been light grey, but it slowly fade to a darker shade of grey. It clenched it's fists and actually snarled at Poe, as it did spikes jutted out around it's neck and wrists.  
  
"How _DARE_ you touch me like that!" it almost roared, before Poe knew it, the robot had actually hit him across the face - sending him back against the ground. The SIR landed on Poe's stomach, heavier then it looked. "What's with you, HUH?"  
  
"What the-" Poe was quite confused by the transformation, but didn't have any time to ponder it as he was struck, knocked back half onto the seat, half onto the floor. He wheezed when the robot landed on his stomach, and he blinked his eyes open, reaching up to pat his bruised cheek; he narrowed his own eyes at the robot, sent over the edge by the sudden assault, he started snarling like a wild animal and reached up to swipe at the robot on his torso. The robot was quick, and grabbed Poe's claw with it's metallic hand, clasping around his wrists. As Poe tried to swipe him with his other hand, he grabbed that one too. His metallic grip tightened as the robot twisted Poe's wrists back in a not-so natural position.  
  
"Are we to have _problems_ with you, Slave?" the robot asked, it's voice deeper and more menacing. With Poe's wrists twisted like this, the robot's spikes were starting to prod at his green skin through the black gloves he wore. "Because I'd HATE to get rid of you so early…" Poe winced as his arms were restrained, and a small whimper rose from his throat. Instead of submitting like an intelligent creature, though, he started to thrash, nearly dislocating his wrist in the process, leaning forward to snap at the robot, frothy spittle flying away from his mouth. Some of the spittle landed on the robots eye cams, but the robot then managed to heft itself up and kick Poe in the chin with both of his metal feet. And knowing how strong and secure Irken metal was, this was no simple kick. The robot kicked him again in the face for good measure before landing back on Poe's torso more firmly then before, knocking more wind out of the Irken.  
  
"But I must say... your antics _do_ amuse me so." The kick was met with a sharp yelp, and he slumped back, shuddering when the robot landed on him again. He seemed subdued now, opening his eyes a crack to look at the robot with a somewhat fearful expression, blood dribbling out of the corner of his mouth.  
  
"Now, I ask again. _Am I going to have any more problems with you_?" the robot leant in, red eyes mere centimetres from Poe's black, yet bruised eyes. He stared back at the robot, his eyes slivers, before he finally closed them and shook his head faintly.  
  
"Good." the robot let him go, but as he did shoved his arms back against Poe roughly. "You can call me either Master, or Gor. Either one is fine with me." Poe breathed labouredly, trying to regain his breath after having it knocked out several times, wondering in the back of his mind just what had happened, or rather, what had gone wrong. He was too drained from all of the events to really respond, just falling asleep in the rather uncomfortable position he was in.  
  
Time ticked past, life seemed to be pretty slow for Poe and his new 'Master', Gor. Gor was quite the character. Very abusive and disruptive, barely allowing Poe to do anything he wanted. But then, the Voot Cruiser came across Earth. The spinning ball of filth came into view, the two occupants of the Voot Cruiser watched as they, still piloted by auto-pilot entered the atmosphere.  
  
"About time too..." Gor muttered as he glanced at the surrounding buildings as they flew past. "Any longer cooped up with you and I would have fried a few circuts." Poe didn't say anything, not even looking at Gor, heck even raising his eyes off the floor could be considered an offence. He just stared stoicly out the window, even as the Voot Cruiser shook and rattled as it blased through the sky. It halted over the first free space it found, wedged between two tentament buildings in the shadier side of the city; The buildings were a bit more blocky than they were on Irk, duller colours, but the atmosphere of the slums was universal and Poe sighed at the irony as the cruiser set down on the darkened, litter-filled lot. The window popped open with a hiss. Gor raised his head, then leapt out of the Cruiser. He snarled viciously at a stray cat that had been watching them, it hissed and ran off into the darkness. The robot glanced around more, then stalked to the corner of the buildings, and looked out at the streets. Trashcans with burning rubble in them, cars missing wheels, a dead dog on the street and many other lovely images pretty much said they were in the wrong side of town. He grinned, then turned and walked back to the Voot Cruiser. Poe silently slunk out of the Voot Cruiser, and jumped when it snapped shut loudly behind him. He withdrew to the side of the neighboring building, his dark eyes glancing out of the shadows for any potential witnesses.  
  
"I guess we'll need disguises.." He mumbled to himself.  
  
"Excellent idea, Slave!" Gor declared as he made his way back to the Cruiser, "We'll have to blend in with the native inhabitants of this spinning ball of filthy dirt as to not arouse suspicious thoughts." he kicked at the Cruiser, which seemed to have been 'trained' to respond to various assults on it. The disguise selector popped up, and Gor skimmed through various disguises quickly. He stopped it, and looked to Poe. "Found one for you." Poe looked over at the disguise selector. He just nodded; it didn't really matter whether he liked it or not, afterall, and stepped into the two half ovals, which snapped together to form the chamber. After some rattling, the halves seperated with a hydraulic hiss, and he stumbled out, blinking and trying to get use to his contacts. Gor twitched an eyelid at Poe's disguise, which was just a long black wig and contacts. He shrugged, then shoved Poe to the side and started scanning for his own. After a short second, he stepped into the machine. Seconds later he stepped out, disguised rather poorly mind, as a doberman.  
  
"Excellent." Poe raised an eyelid and started scanning the street. He picked up a purple pen-thingee, which a screen shot out of. He blinked and took the pen, and started sketching a rather crude house on it, looking around and copying what he saw on the street; when he was nearly finished the pen suddenly jumped out of his hands and burried itself into the ground.  
  
"What the-" A rumbling ensued, and soon the skeleton of the base burst from the ground, the walls filling in with grey, a twisted, cast-iron fence surrounding the perimeter and a few tomb-stones jutting out of the ground as lawn decorations. Gor watched the base rise up from the ground, and folded his arms with a smug look.  
  
"Slave you _do_ surprise me some days…" he said, then walked through the gates up to the door, and walked through a crooked Doggy door into the base. Poe blinked in surprised, relaxing, afterall, Gor could've gotten mad at him for doing something without his explicit supervision. He followed the robot through the door, looking around; it was much like a monotone version of Zim's decor, albeit with a rather more morbid feel. Gor walked around the base, checking out a few of the decors. Like... that casket hanging on the wall. He shrugged.  
  
"Better then other places I've been." the robot muttered.  
  
"So… um." Poe tried to flatten his antennae back, but he couldn't very well succeed with his wig on, "What… what do we do now?"  
  
"Now, we shall scout around the area." Gor snapped back, taking the collar which had been assigned to him through the machine - being black with spikes juttting out of it - off and walked up to Poe. "And to make sure you don't take the first opportunity to make yourself scarce…" he hovered in front of Poe and clasped the collar around his neck, then attached the metal chain to it. Poe winced at the sound of the clasp, looking down at the leash sadly, slumping and sticking his hands in his pockets.  
  
"Fine.." They started out the door and down the street, towards the park. Gor was in front, holding onto the leash and leading Poe along. Not exactly the most normal thing anyone would see, but hey, who ever notices anything in this place?  
  
"Hrm, let's hope not all of humanity lives in their own filthy." he muttered.There was _one_ person who'd notice, though, and as they wandered into the park, Dib was marching towards them, studying some of his notes.  
  
"Those chupacabra droppings didn't get there by them-huh?!" He nearly tripped over the disguised robot and found himself staring at what he thought a grey version of Zim's shirt. He blinked, glanced up; Poe looked just as surprised as he did. Gor snarled as Dib had almost came in contact with him, glaring daggers at the large headed boy. Possibly too mad to speak at having such a close call with an alien, or he knew he was a canine and wasn't meant to speak. No one could really tell, he just looked pretty nasty. Dib yelped and backed up quickly, adjusting his glasses.  
  
"Yo-you're another… Zim thingee!" He pointed accusingly at Poe, who looked rather nervous and started to back up, but Gor's leash prevented him from going very far. "I bet you're here to take over the world and… and…" Dib paused for a moment, "And lay eggs in peoples' chests!" Poe just stared at him blankly. The dog-clad robot looked confused for a split second, then frowned again.  
  
"So, you know of our arrival. Well woopdie-dookie for you." Gor walked up to Dib, dragging Poe after him and walked up Dib's front, now stood on his stomach and now face to face with him. "Now you listen here you bag of meat and bones, you _dare _speak to anyone about us, and I'll use your body as a house for flies to house their newly laid maggots in. Do you understand me?" with that he added a vicious snarl, showing rather sharp pointy fangs. Dib recoiled, falling onto his back in surprise from a SIR that was actually somewhat functional, while Poe shook his head at Gor's abrasive action. Dib tilted his large head to the side to see past Gor,  
  
"Call your robot dog thing off!" He then muttered, "Besides, it's not like anyone _believes_ me when I tell them.."   
  
"_HIS_ robot thing?!" the eyes on the dog disguise blazed red, "I am NOT his robot!!" Gor grabbed Poe by the jacket collar, and shook him back and forth for a while. "YOU WILL NEVER REFER TO ME AS HIS ROBOT EVER AGAIN DO YOU HEAR ME?!?!" Dib yelped as he was violently jerked around, flailing his arms, his glasses nearly being knocked off his face,  
  
"Okay, okay, jeeze! Let me down!" He was dropped, well, thrown down rather roughly, and he got up, dusting himself off before going in the opposite direction at a quick pace. "I think I like Gir better…" he muttered.  
  
"Who?" Gor raised an eyelid at the name of the other robot, "Who is this… Gir?" Dib stopped and glanced back at the two.  
  
"…weren't you re-enforcements sent for Zim? Like that girl Irken."  
  
"…who's Zim?" Poe looked rather lost.  
  
"No, we weren't sent to assist _anyone_. Are those others Irkens?" the robot glanced back at Poe, "Great, more of them."  
  
"What are other Irkens doing here? Our scanners said the planet was uninhabited.." Poe wondered quietly. Dib shrugged.  
  
"Something evil I suppose. They're all at Skool right- wait a minute, why should I help you?! Find your commrades on your own!" Dib huffed and wandered away.  
  
"Bah. Pathetic humanoids." Gor huffed, then ran a scan for the 'Skool' in his mind, and saw it. "Ohhh, I see. Sort of like Devastus but with less deaths. Come slave!" he then yanked on Poe's leash, dragging him along. "No idea why that human wasn't in Skool with them… probably skipping." Poe was yanked forward, stumbling and following after Gor. Soon enough, they reached the Skool yard, and wandered on in; not like security was a great concern in this world. A few kids glanced down at the doberman leading the green kid, but didn't think much of it. Ms. Bitters' 'new student' sense started to tingle, and she twitched,  
  
"It seems we have a new student approaching at 200 yards.." The children in her classroom exchanged glances, some looking out the window. This was easier for the kids in the first row, seeing Dib's big head wasn't in the way as usual. Some kids 'ooed' and 'ahhed' when they saw Poe and Gor stood in the yard. Gor was now sniffing at a bush, looking more canine then he probably intended; but still having Poe on a leash was still odd looking. Then they entered.. through a.. window? Well, why not, it was quicker. Bitters twitched again, and Poe just looked nervous. Zim, who had been busy trying to levitate a pencil on his lip again suddenly dropped his writing impliment, staring wide-eyed and pointing forward, muttering incoherently. Gor glanced around the room, eyeing some of the children. He snarled at Poonchy, the red headed boy recoiling into his seat muttering about spooky dogs.  
  
"Um… Hi… this is… uh… Gor… he's… um… a guide dog." Poe stared ahead at the children, his shyness kicking in even among aliens, and he tugged at the collar of his shirt. Zim suddenly jumped on his desk,  
  
"DON'T BE FOOLED BY HIS CLEVER ROUSE! HE'S A HORRIBLE ALIEN CREATURE! Can you not see his hidious green flesh?!" He made dramatic fists.  
  
"_SILENCE ZIM_! Or you'll find yourself in detention for the rest of your life!" Bitters screeched, Zim seeming to have lost his brave and dramaticness mumbled a 'Yes sir' and sat down again, glaring at Poe and Gor. Zita blinked at Poe,   
  
"So what, you're blind?" she tilted her head to the side.  
  
"Huh? Oh… yeah, I can't taste a thing." Poe blinked again, coughing. Zim was glaring daggers at Poe, trying to analyze him, and Poe gave him a worried glance. "Must be who that kid was talking about.." Gor rolled his eyes and kicked Poe in the leg and made a 'see' like sound, then sat down on his hiney.  
  
"And _your_ name is?" Ms. Bitters glared at Poe, not that she needed another student in her class, but oh well.  
  
"Ow. See, I mean see. I'm… Poe." He drummed his fingers together and took a seat on Dib's free desk, not like he knew who it belonged to, though the pencil scribbles on the wood of Zim being dissected might've given it away. Zim glared at the pale-skinned Irken critically, pursing his lips in suspicion. Sat behind where Poe had made his seat, was the female Irken that Dib bad spoken of. Course, we know her as Cten. She had kept quiet and not really paid attention to the whole situation that just played out, since she had her head burried in a book labled something about American History, since that had been what Ms. Bitters was dooming before Poe had entered. Gor glanced at her, looking her over in her Anime-like dress up and blonde wig. He snorted and looked to the front of the classroom, as Cten lowered her book and stared at the back of Poe's head, well, technically his hair. Since his wig was long, and draped over the front of her desk. Poe blinked and felt someone staring at him. He turned around and jumped slightly, seeing the other green kid, or moreover, the green _female_.  He noticed that his hair was on her desk and quickly tugged it back over his shoulder,  
  
"Er, sorry about that…" She shrugged slightly, glancing down at the book in her hands.  
  
"No problem." Cten said quietly, as Ms. Bitters started ranting on about how Napoleon was doomed from the beginning. He fiddled with his hair nervously and glanced around.  
  
"So, um… What's this planet called again?" A look of embaressment crossed his face, he hadn't been able to read the control panel of the Voot Cruiser with the name on it, afterall.  
  
"Planet Earth." she replied, putting the book down on her desk. "Sorry but, I wasn't really listening before… what's your name?"  
  
"I'm, um…" He blinked, his name suddenly having escaped his mind, as is typical phenomena for males when confronted with having to introduce themselves to a pretty, unfamiliar girl. "It's… uh… Poe!" He finally recalled victoriously. Gor scoffed at Poe's stupidness, then entered sleep mode. He figured he'd get some nap time while the class continued on. Cten smiled slightly, shyly too though; this being the first male Irken she'd encountered which wasn't Zim-like.  
  
"That's a nice name." she said, then put her hand to her chest. "My name is Cten."  
  
"Hey." He grinned goofily, then glanced over at Zim, back to Cten, "So.. what are you two doing here?" Cten glanced over at Zim as he was eyeing the two dangerously. She looked to Poe,  
  
"Our mission is to blend in with the indigenous life, analyze their weaknesses, prepare for the coming of badness! Yay." she said sounding like it had been programmed into her somewhere. Cten grinned slightly, "I'm here really just to assist him as much as I can. What about you, what are you doing here?" she leant forward on her elbows, supporting her head with her hands.  
  
"Me… well… I'm not sure really. My Mo-er, Noble Xyth brought me to the Tallest for… for re-evaluation," He glanced to the side, not really wanting to admit he was a Reject, "And they said I could have a Voot Cruiser to have some job scouting for new planets, but… I really just wanted to start a new life away from Irk."  
  
"Ohh, I see." she glanced out the window at some cyborg squirrles that were doing the can-can on the window pane. "Well Earth's all right I guess, except when it rains or when people throw meat at you. Then it kinda gets bad."  
  
"What's bad about rain and meat?" He raised his eyeridge, then looked over at Zim, "Aren't you two going to take over the place?"  
  
"Yeah well… Zim's kinda…" she leant in and whispered to his wig quietly, "_Bad _with making plans. And rain kinda burns holes in our skin and meat fixes itself to our skin. Beefy Cow meats anyway." Cten then sat back normally before a fellow male student could sneak a look up her skirt, seeing how short it was. She hated that.  
  
"I see." He looked around worriedly, afraid it might start raining at any moment, not like he knew it didn't do that indoors. He'd come in towards the late end of class, and the bell was soon ringing again, and the rush of kids stampeding out of the room left him, well, stunned. "Was that some kind of warning klaxon?"  
  
"No silly." Cten got to her seat, her pod arms shooting out and retreiving the books from her desk into her pod. "That means it's home time." Zim had left with the rest of the class, but he was truthfully waiting outside the gates for Cten's arrival, since he'd gotten another engenious plan while balancing a pencil on his lip during class.  
  
"Oh." Poe blinked and stood up, looking down at Gor worriedly. Not knowing what else to do, he picked up the deactivated robot; there wasn't much else he could do, afterall, being chained to him currently. Zim was waiting outside,  
  
"Aha, Cten, my INCREDIBLE brain has formulated another… AMAZING plan! But first.." He turned on his heel toward Poe, "YOU! Explain your- wait, no, I have a better idea. Take off your human coat concealment this instant!" Poe stared down at the shorter Irken blankly, looking somewhat worried, but complied, setting Gor down and shrugging his arms out of his coat, revealing his gray striped shirt to be a worn, utilitarian tanktop. "AHA!" Zim raised a finger victoriously, "A REJECT!" Cten stared at Poe blankly for a while, then blinked.  
  
"A Reject?" she tilted her head to the side, "What was he rejected from?" Gor, still fast asleep made no movements as he was set down, snoring loudly now. Sounding similar to a bull dozer.  
  
"HE is a SUB-member of the Irken species who the Government has deemed UNWORTHY of full citizenship," Zim started to lecture, glaring at Poe all the while, who was trying to disappear into the local wall, "They're generally DANGEROUS, DISEASED, DEFORMED, and DYSFUNCTIONAL FREAKS who spend their days eating trash and reproducing in abandoned alleys!"  
  
"Whoa, really?" Cten looked to Poe, gazing wide-eyed. Having such a sheltered up-raising in the Learning Chambers for Servants, then ending up working for the Tallest she didn't really know about Rejects. Course, she heard a few things when people spoke of a Noble Xyth, but that's besides the point. "Neat!" she commented.  
  
"NEAT?! We're endangering our well beings, not to mention our dignity by simply being in this close a proximity to him!" Zim waved a hand at Poe, who didn't look especially happy now, but he was use to it. Zim snorted somehow and crossed his arms, "If I had my laser with me I'd dispose of him as should have been done when he hatched!"   
  
"…but if he _is_ as dangerous as you say he is Zim, don't you think saying all this is getting him madder and madder and then he'd probably just rip your head off of your body and eat your head or something?" Cten folded her arms behind her back, since it did seem to make an awful lot of sense to her. "Cause if that's the case, I wouldn't really be the one insulting him right now. I mean, he's so _tall_…"  
  
"…well… um… I'd like to see him attack an Invader with extensive academic training! Don't think I don't know how to defend myself!" Zim took note of her point but went on anyways, though he did look a bit more subdued.  
  
"I'm not going to hurt anyone…" Poe muttered, heck, he seemed less dangerous than Zim at the moment.   
  
"And anyway," Cten walked over and took Zim by the arm, "You said you had some engenious plan you wanted to tell me all about, and we're waisting time by blabbering on out here, aren't we?"  
  
"But… bah, fine, I'll deal with you later, Reject!" Zim scoffed and followed Cten, going into a speil about how he was going to take over the world with _all-beef_ patties. Poe quirked an eyelid, then sighed and shook his head, starting down the hall in the opposite direction. Gor finally snapped awake again, turning his head around.  
  
"…oh, is it over already?"  
  
"I… guess so. Or there was some earlier." He left the skool building, standing out in the grounds and looking around, "Now which way was ho… er… the base…"  
  
"That way." Gor pointed in some direction, and the two started home. "So! Did you learn anything from your skool thing Slave, or was it a waste of time and effort on the teachers part?" Poe closed his eyes and shook his head faintly,  
  
"She was pretty much just repeating the word 'doom' over and over, there wasn't much I could learn from that.."  
  
"And why not? Doom's important." the robot replied, as they crossed an old abandoned train track.  
  
"But--" He sighed and shook his head again, knowing that arguing would only result in being punished, "Fine, I'll try harder next time.."  
  
"Good Slave." Gor glanced back at him, an ear quirking. "Did you run into that Zim character, per chance?"  
  
"You just missed him giving me the standard rant about how dangerous and diseased all Rejects were." Poe said simply as he turned onto the street the base was on.  
  
"I like him already. And that large headed boy spoke of a girl," he smirked slightly. "Seems you two were getting associated before I entered sleep mode. You _were_ able to contain yourself, were you?"  
  
"Yes," he muttered, looking dull, "Judging by how they were acting I'd say she was with Zim anyway."  
  
"Aww, poor Slave." though his voice shown no compassion, don't ya just love the crazed robot? "Maybe next time you should try a mop." Poe just made an annoyed 'nnnh' sound in the back of his throat and stared ahead as they passed through the misshapened door. He set, well dropped really, Gor onto the floor and settled for glaring at the wall of the kitchen from his place in the living room. Gor got out of his disguise and shok his head at Poe, why'd he have to end up stuck with the pathetic Reject who shown no signs of trying to flee. He sighed and headed off, going to explore the rest of the base for the day and to leave Poe to do as he wishes.  
  
[To be continued!]


	3. Chapter 3

Deformity is an Understatement  
Written by Cartman's Girl and Invader Poe  
  
~*~  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Poe watched him leave and turned, setting out of the house to wander. He hugged his coat around him as he started down the street, paper blowing by his feet, skittering from one end of the dirty street to the other.  
  
"Just like home," he muttered, but eventually he found his way back to the park, which was an improvement to say the least. He leaned back on an unoccupied bench and stared up at the sky, unaware the other two Irkens were wandering nearby.  
  
"...that's it?" Cten had heard all of Zim's planning, and was just staring at him blankly. Then, decided to use her usual mode when dealing with him. "Oh Zim that's... just so amazing you know? And you know what? On the way here, I don't think you saw it, but there's this HUGE discount sale thing going on for all-beef patties. If you buy them, then sell them to the humans they'd think they're getting home style and you know how much humans love home style food. Stuff." t'was a situation Cten was very used to by now, how to treat Zim when he had these 'amazing ideas'.  
  
"What?! I must be there!" Zim started off at once, probably setting a new land-speed record for shopping. Poe didn't notice them, though, having a distant look in his eyes that indicated he was probably lost in thought. Cten rolled her eyes to herself, turned and started walking along before stopping in mid-stride. She spotted Poe sat on the bench,  
  
"Hrmm." she murmered. She glanced back at where Zim had been, traces of paper lofting in the wind now. The innocent-looking child shrugged and headed over to him, sitting down besides him on the bench. Poe seemed dead to the world, and he leaned his head forward, when he suddenly looked over and spotted her. He yelped, jumping in his seat and nearly toppling off the bench, sitting up and holding onto his wig,  
  
"Oh, um, hi, I uh, didn't see you there…"  
  
"I know." she grinned, leaning back on the bench hanging her arms over the back of it. "It's a nice day, ain't it?" Poe seemed dead to the world, and he leaned his head forward, when he suddenly looked over and spotted her. He yelped, jumping in his seat and nearly toppling off the bench, sitting up and holding onto his wig,  
  
"Oh, um, hi, I uh, didn't see you there.."  
  
"I know." she grinned, leaning back on the bench hanging her arms over the back of it. "It's a nice day, ain't it?"  
  
"Oh, yeah, I think at least, it's my first day here." He fumbled over his words a bit, setting his hands in his lap and glancing skywards. Cten glanced at him, smiling warmly. She then blew some hair from her eyes.  
  
"I thought so." she said, "You seem new." He scratched the side of his head.  
  
"Is it really that obvious? Truth be told I only landed here a few hours ago…"  
  
"Well, not knowing what rain was, that was a give away." Cten smirked, "Rain is the compound of Oxygen and Hydrogen, it falls from the sky when clouds turn grey." she explained simply, then laughed. "Tallest knows why I must know all that stuff."  
  
"Well… um… I'm sure it must come in handy." He was silent for a while, then looked at her, "Aren't you worried that I'll attack you or give you some kind of disease like Zim said?"  
  
"Nah." she replied simply, watching a bird fly over head. Poe turned, staring at her in slack-jaw amazement.  
  
"Y… you're… _not_?" Cten shook her head, bringing her face to his.  
  
"Hey, life's a big journey Poe. Look at me, I used to live happily near Irk, next thing I'm on a totally different planet... it's all leading up to something. So, might as well live as much as I can." Poe sank back into his previous position, still in shock,  
  
"No… no normal Irken's really… you know… been anything but like Zim, except, well, my mom."  
  
"Yeah well…" she shrugged slightly, "I don't really care what Zim thinks, to be honest."  
  
"I thought you were his assistant?" He looked slightly confused.  
  
"I'm supposed to be." Cten said, then leant in close to him and whispered quietly. "But to be brutally honest, I'm just here to make him think his mission is real." Poe blinked when she leaned in,  
  
"He… he isn't an Invader?"  
  
"Not really." she glanced around, as if Zim would appear as she said this. "See, he's _technically_ exhiled. I was sent by the Tallest to make him think he's still an Invader." Cten leant back, blinked and leaned in. "Don't breath a word to anyone tho."  
  
"I won't. I'm good at keeping secrets." He grinned slightly, displaying his fangs. Cten stared at his fangs for a while, narrowing an eye.  
  
"Gee, your teeth are neat too."  
  
"Huh? Oh, sorry," He slouched and quickly closed his mouth, "I, erm, forget they're not normal."  
  
"Oh pft to normal stuff." she pointed to her hair, "My antennae aren't exactly classified as normal, and besides… it's neat seeing an Irken that doesn't look like every other Irken in existance."  
  
"It… is? I… thought you were being…" He scrunched his face up, searching for the word, "…sarcastic." He shook his head, "Actually, it's nice to see someone normal after you live where I use to for long enough…"

"Course I wasn't. I'm only sarcastic to those who need it." Cten looked at him with a sligh forlorn look. "You didn't live somewhere good I take?"  
  
"No… I live… where the Rejects live. Outside the city boundaries."  
  
"Never heard or seen it."  
  
"It's, um…" He pointed to the area of the city he lived in now, "It's like that, but… worse."  
  
"Yuck." Cten poked her tongue out, "Doesn't sound good at all."   
  
"Yeah, it wasn't too pleasent." He said softly, sagging somewhat. "I was hoping life here would be better…"  
  
"Well maybe it will get better." she reached over and stroked his cheek gently, "Life's like that." He froze when she touched him and started to flinch away as though he expected to be hit,  
  
"Well… I didn't think I'd have to listen to any more normal Irkens rant at me for being a Reject…"  
  
"Well Zim's… accentric." Cten pulled her hand back when she sensed him tense up, and put it into her lap. "He gets carried away very easily."  
  
"Heh… guess so." He looked a bit disappointed when she pulled her hand away, "Sorry, I just… well… not use to touch." He glanced back towards his 'home', "The nice variety I mean…"  
  
"I'm not either." she looked at her hands, "A Maid is rarely touched anyway." He looked over at her,  
  
"I guess we're kind of alike then." He looked around, then reached over and tentatively stroked her cheek with the back of his somewhat large hand, "And now we're even." Cten smiled slightly, blushing very very slightly.  
  
"Guess so." she murmered. He smiled as well, then quickly withdrew his hand, remembering something.  
  
"So, um, what do you and Zim do here, anyway?"  
  
"Do? Zim comes up with plans, I assist, plan fails, Zim wails, I calm him down. Happens about every day." Cten scratched her forehead, the wig being itchy. "Gets tedious."  
  
"I can imagine how that is.. Zim.. well.. I don't know him so I'm trying not to jump to conclusions.. but he seems kinda bossy to me."  
  
"Very bossy. Things have to be his way, or no way. Or I face the tantrum of doom." Cten smirked, since Zim did act like a little kid now and again.  
  
"Reminds me of Gor," he muttered under his breath, rubbing his cheek unconsciously.  
  
"Heh… more alike then we thought." she said quietly.  
  
"Yeah." He leaned back against the seat, "So, um, where do you and Zim live?"  
  
"…I don't live with Zim." Cten smirked, "After one week, that was enough. I live on the out skirts of town." she pointed in one direction, "It's all right."  
  
"Oh, I can't say I blame you." He leaned forward, shielding his eyes and peering in the direction she pointed out, "…with all that… green stuff?"  
  
"Trees?" she looked slightly confused.  
  
"Trees? I guess… if that's what they're called.. to be honest I've never seen this much green stuff before." He looked around at the park, "Everything was dirty metal, wood and concrete back home.."  
  
"Well yeah… Irk is pretty much metal all over." Cten glanced at the trees, "They make air, thus rain, so… eh. Earth needs em so I won't bother em." She then turned her head to him, getting off the bench. "Come on though, I wanna show you something." Poe blinked,  
  
"Well, alright then…" He stood up, stretching out his back and demonstrating his true height, then looked down at her. She stared at him blankly for a while, before blinking and heading into some bushes across from them.  
  
"This way." Poe arched his eyeridges and followed her, sinking back into his normal slump and stuffing his hands in his pockets.  
  
"What exactly were you going to show me…?" He wondered, following her into the bushes.  
  
"Something neat trees are good for." he found her half way up one particular tree, pretty tall too. Just besides another path in the park too, and it had a lot of sterdy branches. Poe looked slightly surprised, then examined the bark slightly, digging his claws into it and starting up the tree without too much trouble. Heck, he made it look easy, his condition still giving him some of that primeval grace though Gor had 'tamed' most of it out of him, and was soon level with her on the tree. "And then.. we use one of those.. sticky.. out thingees for a seat?"  
  
"Well not _yet_." she said, then leapt up, her pod legs carrying her further up. "This is really neat though, and if I've got the time right we'll have a good view." Poe followed her, arching his eyeridges in surprise as his position gave him a rather, er, clear view up her skirt, he blinked and politely looked elsewhere. He dug his claws into the bark and kept pulling himself up manually. Eventually she came to a stop, and seated herself on a branch. She looked down at him, smiling slightly.  
  
"You can look up now, you know."  
  
"I-huh?" He blinked and looked up at her, his cheeks tinting, "Oh, um, sorry." He tensed and leapt from his current position, grabbing onto the branch and scrambling up onto it beside her quickly - bit of a show-off wasn't he?   
  
"Show off." she smirked, then pointed. "There, take a look at that." what laid out before them was quite breath-taking, if they had lungs. There, spread out before them was the park, then the large city. The sun was partly showing from behind a huge building, making the sky a hue of purple and red. Shadows cast, and the sounds of the city were still clear, just seemed to be more muffled from this height. He was about to defend himself when he turned and saw the sight, blinking in awe.  
  
"Wow… that's really… That looks beautiful." He managed in a quiet tone, then glanced over at her, "Um… thanks… you know… for telling me… about trees." He grinned somewhat sheepishly, knowing how silly he probably sounded.  
  
"Glad to be of assistance Poe." Cten grinned, "Plus, from this height no one can see us so I can free my antennae from my musty wig." she yanked at her blonde wig, yanking it off. The two long steams sprang up, a black ball at the joint of each of them. Then, a long coiled end fell down, longer then any 'normal' Irken joint anyway. "Wuagh, finally…" she shook her antennae. Poe stared at her just a bit,  
  
"Oh, good idea." He lifted his wig off of his head, shaking his extremely long antennae free with a few jangles of his piercings. He thought for a moment, before reaching up and taking out his contacts carefully, blinking his watery eyes repeatedly, rubbing at them with his sleeve before he opened them fully and revealed their totally black colouration. While he had been doing that, Cten had pulled out her contacts. She rubbed her eyes, squinting them as she did.  
  
"I hate contacts." she said, before removing her hand to reveal her crisp blue coloured eyes. Cten turned her head to see him, and blinked a few times. Her eyes stuck to his long antennae, she blinked again. "Wow… they're so… big and… thick and long!" she claimed, knowing how dumb she sounded. Heck, she never seen antennae like that.  
  
"Yeah, I know," he folded them back self-consciously, "They're part of the reason I was Rejected." He looked up over at her, noticing her eyes and being caught somewhat and staring again. She stared at his black eyes, never seeing eyes as black as his was new and they say when you look into a persons eyes you're like, seeing their soul. At least, that's what she'd read. He blinked slightly,  
  
"Oh, um, sorry, your eyes just… well they're a few shades off but they kind of remind me of my Mom's." He set his hands in his lap and glanced down at them.  
  
"Oh." Cten blinked out of it, looking across at the city again.  
  
"They're, uh… really… pretty." He tilted his head to face her again and flashed another one of his goofy, sheepish, but toothy smiles. She looked back at him and smiled gently,  
  
"I like your eyes too."  
  
"Really? They kinda disturb some people like my teeth do." As he slowly became relaxed his antennae started to unfold out of the tight bundle had them in against his head, uncurling and going out to the sides somewhat.  
  
"Yeah they're… unique. I don't see black eyed Irkens a lot…" Cten smiled slightly, "They're very nice." her own antennae blew in the wind, since they were shoe-string thin; well the curling part was anyway.  
  
"I haven't seen that many with blue eyes either." He smiled widely, a few teeth sliding into view, a way that was sort of infectious despite outward appearance. He wasn't aware of how the wind was bringing her antennae dangerously close to his own, too busy grinning at her.  
  
"Yeah… most Irkens have purple, red or green… anyone with other colours is considered weird anyway." Cten sighed and leant back on the branch, her hands digging into the bark so she wouldn't fall. Her antennae being so light weight they were easily manipulated in the wind, and even she didn't even notice how they were blowing closer and closer to his antennae. He watched her, tilting back as well just in case that was proper; however, this action brought the two sets direcrly in contact with each other, the wind tengling them together in a soft gust.  
  
"What the--" His eyes widened and he tried to jerk away in reflex, but this only succeeded in making things more tangled.  Cten glanced up at her antennae, the rough wind causing hers to tangle into his piercings, and along with his. She blushed brightly and reached up to try and weave her antenane out of his,  
  
"I-I'm so sorry!" she murmered, her fingers fumbling with the antennae.   
  
"I-It's al-alright," He winced slightly, the area around his piercings was quite sensitive afterall, but he reached back and pulled his antennae forward to make it easier to reach, a somewhat odd, tense look on his face. Cten bit her lower lip, managing to untangle one of her antennae. Now, you're probably wondering why these two are so tense? Well, in the Irken way of life, entwining antennae were their way of stimulating their mates, thus resulting in the mating habit. Or in other words, kissing. As her antennae freed itself she started untangling her others, being careful not to touch Poe's antennae since fondling or even touching another Irkens antennae is considered down right dirty. He squeezed his eyes shut as she did so, shifting his weight around - heck, he'd been tense to _begin_ with. Once they were finally free he let out the breath he'd been holding with a woosh, sagging forward. Cten scooted slightly to the side, blushing furiously still. She held onto the tips of her antennae, glancing to the side.  
  
"I'm… I'm sorry."  
  
"It's… okay." He took another deep breath and blinked his eyes open, a blush creeping over his cheek as well, and he held his antennae to his sides to prevent them from taking on minds of their own, "These, these things are ungainly, they get tangled up in stuff all the time…"  
  
"Has… this happened before?" she asked, putting her wig back on securely.  
  
"Well… not… _that_… I mean… I never… um… did that with anyone else.. intentionally or not." He coughed, "I use to trip over them when I was younger though.."  
  
"I never did it intentionally either." Cten mumbled, putting her contacts back in. He put his own wig back on, looking over at her,  
  
"You didn't?" He found his contacts in his coat and put them back in, "Seems like a waste on your part…" he murmured to himself, sticking one in with some complication.  
  
"Why's that?" she turned to him, the blush fading from her cheeks finally.  
  
"Well… I mean… first antennae twining… by accident… with a Reject of all things," He snorted, holding his eyelids open to stick the other one in, squinting to get use to them. Cten shrugged slightly, glancing away.  
  
"It was nice, I guess… for an accident."  
  
"Yeah." He pulled his wig into place more firmly, "…not bad at all."  
  
"Hmm." she straighted her skirt, then cleared her throat. "…so now what?"  
  
"I… I dunno." He looked up at the darkening sky, "I guess we could just sit here and watch the sunset…"  
  
"That'd be nice." Cten murmered. So they sat and they watched in relatives silence. As night slowly overtook the park, Poe found himself staring at his new companion out of the corner of his eye. The Earth sky was pretty and all, but, well - to him, she was prettier.  
  
[To be continued!]


	4. Chapter 4

Deformity is an Understatement  
Written by Cartman's Girl and Invader Poe  
  
~*~  
  
Chapter Four  
  
So, time had ticked on. Poe found he was able to get away from Gor time to time. The main purpose being Gor seemed to enjoy 'hunting' Poe down, the thrill of the chase and what not. Zim, still treated Poe as something he had stepped on. Gir, well Gir felt happy about everyone didn't he? As for Cten, she had began the long task of teaching Poe to read. Not only English, but Irken as well. Seeing as how it was nearing the Christmas holidays the students were allowed to stay in the classroom if they wanted for lunches. These sessions were the perfect time for Cten and Poe to sit at the back of the class, where they weren't bothered by anyone, even Zim sometimes, to do what they wanted.  
  
Cten was returning from lunch, having avoided eating she liked being indoors. Seeing as how snow was frozen water and all, Zim luckily was in the lunchroom trying to convince others he was 'normal' by making a MuffinMan. Poe glanced over at Zim and shook his head slightly, then glanced back down at what Cten was trying to show him. Of course, teaching him how to read was something that required he sit rather closely next to her, well, that's how he justified it at least. He pulled the book towards him and squinted, stumbling over the passage, probably reading like a first-grader, but it wasn't bad for someone who'd just started a few months ago. He sighed, though, shaking his head,  
  
"I dunno, Cten, maybe it's just too late for me to learn this kind of stuff…"  
  
"Now come on, you're living here on Earth. And they have a lot of signs which are important." she said sternly, "Now come on it isn't that hard." Cten leant over and ran her claw tip over the word, "Remember your ABC? Break up the word first."  
  
"I know, I know…" He sighed slightly, running his claws through his wig, "Maybe I just need a break… I'm not use to this whole… studying thing afterall. "Isn't skool almost out yet anyway?" He looked over at her hopefully, like a kid waiting to be let off of his homework duties and go play outside.  
  
"Well… okay, okay. You need a break." she pulled the book back to her, closing it. "You are getting better though, and that's good."   
  
"I am?" He perked up at the encouragement and grinned.  Some of the other kids were already migrating out into the hallway, where they were forming a crowd around the new addition to the hallway; someone, against skool rules of course, had hung up a sprig of mistletoe, and they were waiting for the first unsuspecting pair to walk under it. And, unfortunatly for the Irken duo, they were that pair.  
  
"Lookit guys! Cten and Poe's first!" squealed Poonchy, doing a little jig of excitement.  
  
"Rules are rules you guys!" Zita said, pointing to the mistletoe. "You two gotta kiss now." Cten blinked, looking up at the mistletoe. She blinked, then stared at the classmates.  
  
"We do?" she asked. Poe looked around in confusion.  
  
"Yeah, it's what any NORMAL pair of humans would do!" one of the kids chided,  
  
"Aren't you NORMAL?" another one egged on. Poe glanced over at Cten worriedly.  
  
"Uhmm... of course we're normal." Cten replied nervously, sweating bullets now.  
  
"Then go on, kiss! Tradition is a tradition." Chunk crossed his arms, one kid heard whispering,  
  
"Told ya they were into each other."  
  
"Then kiss already!" Another voice insisted, Poe looking rather nervous himself.  
  
"Well, uh.." He turned to Cten and stared down at her, slowly and quite tentatively reaching for her waist, "I guess we have to.." As soon as he touched her the crowd started into a single cheer of,  
  
"KISS! KISS! KISS!" Poe squeezed his eyes shut, leaning down. Cten groaned at the ranting, but arched up to meet him half way closing her own eyes. Quite tense, is it not? But, there you have it! The two finally, after lingering before their lips met, kiss in front of the whole student body. Needless to say, the reactions were,  
  
"Oooooo!" and a few stifled giggles and such. Poe was always one to try rather hard at something, so he decided to do something he saw on TV - Soon after their lips met he pulled her closer and dipped her onto her back, which got more than a few awe-struck stares and another chrous of impressed sounds, not to mention a few encouraging whistles. Well if I said Cten was shocked, that'd be an understatement. Her eyes widened as she was dipped, afraid of being dropped onto her back she grabbed him by the shoulders, shutting her eyes tightly again and wondering how long they had to do this; despite she sort of enjoyed kissing the 'human' way. A teacher finally arrived on the scene, and the kids parted like the Red Sea, scattering suddenly; Poe was a bit too occupied to notice, though, until a rough human hand clamped down on his shoulder with a loud cough. He blinked his eyes open and looked out of the corner of them, suddenly stumbling away from Cten after he righted her, looking somewhat panicked.  
  
"It's, it's, uh, not what you think, we were just…" Cten picked up her book, which she had dropped once Poe had dipped her and coughed as she straightened her wig.  
  
"It, the children said that, that it was traditional…" she pointed to the mistletoe hanging in the door way, which Zim was now eyeing as if it'd leap off and attack him at any given second. The teacher waved them off.  
  
"If it were any other time of the Skool year I'd punish you… but I suppose I'm inclined to be forgiving." He sighed and shook his head. "Just don't let me catch you again." Mr. Anonymous went off again, muttering under his breath about green kids. Poe still looked somewhat dazed, for, well, obvious reasons.  She sighed in reliefe as the teacher left, then looked at Poe through the corner of her eye.  
  
"Future note, at Christmas time we'll avoid mistletoe… Poe? Poe, you all right?" she noted the dazed look and waved her hand in front of his eyes. Poe stared ahead blankly, just blinking mechanically. Zim, however, was far more responsive.  
  
"CTEN! How could you let that Reject do that do you?! You're probably crawling with… with GERMS now!"  
  
"Zim I didn't have a choice!" she pointed to the mistletoe, "That… that _evil_ weed made us do it! We had to seem normal didn't we?" Zim narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips, his eyelid twitching. "I suppose so… as long as you didn't _enjoy_ it or anything." He glanced over at Poe, who still seemed to be in a state of shock trauma, but a grin was tugging at the corner of his mouth. Cten glanced at Poe, then looked back at Zim.  
  
"No no, it was to fit in. Oh." she then leant in, grabbing Zim by the shoulders,  
  
"What the-GAK!" and she gave him a smooch on the lips since he had failed to notice he had been under it along with her. She let him go by one hand, the other pulling him into the hallway. "And be glad that you didn't have to do that with any humans." Cten claimed simply, letting him go. Zim's eyes widened and he stumbled backwards, flailing his arms at her,  
  
"DISGUSTING! I HAVE REJECT GERMS ON ME NOW!" He sputtered and nearly induced vomitting, pulling his tongue out and attempting to wring it dry. Poe seemed to finally snap out of it when he heard Zim's screaming, blinking and shaking his head,  
  
"…woah."  
  
"Oh here." she reached behind her back and pulled out the oral-germ spray Zim made her carry around and held it up to him. "Open wide Zim."  
  
"Nnfootle!" He warned her, still having his tongue hanging out, then considered the possibilities and opened up his mouth in resignation. Poe ran his claws through his wig, a grin breaking out over his features despite himself. She sprayed the oral-germ spray into his mouth twice after shaking it, then put it away.  
  
"There, your mouth's clean again." Zim smacked his lips a few times and withdrew his tongue, making a face,  
  
"That is, unless any of the horrible things escaped into my throat-hole…" His eyes jerked open as he that idea gave him a new dose of paranoia, and he clutched his chest, "I must go scan my squeedly spooch for germ infestation!" And with that, he ran off, pushing over a few straggling kids. Cten shook her head slowly,  
  
"Poor paranoid Zim…" she muttered, then turned around to see Poe still with his goofy grin plastered all over his face. She smirked, turning around fully to face him. "I take you enjoyed that, Poe?" she asked.  
  
"Huhwah?" He jumped at her voice, his grin disappearing and replaced with a bright red colouration all over his features, "Oooh, um… it was… alright… for a… human practice."  
  
"Yeah it was… interesting. Not the same as antennae fondling but still." she shrugged, glancing away. "Um, yeah."  
  
"Y-yeah." He glanced in the other direction and stuffed his hands in his pockets firmly. "I… guess we better be off then… um… see you around?"  
  
"Yeah, either see you around town or… yeah, couple weeks when Skool starts up again." Cten glanced at him, smiling slightly. "If you can get away from Gor long enough, wanna catch up during the holidays?"  
  
"Sure… I'd love to," He grinned back at her a bit, removing one of his hands to scratch at his wig. "I uh… I don't want to stay away from my studies… you know, too long either."  
  
"Yeah, we've almost finished reading that book so that's important." Poe nodded idly.  
  
"Yeah… um…" He looked downard slightly, "Thanks for trying to teach me, Cten… I mean.. I know I'm not that smart or educated or anything but… It means a lot to me."  
  
"Hey, it's my pleasure Poe." Cten smiled, then rubbed his arm to reassure him, "You're doing fine, really! And I enjoy hanging out with you." He glanced over at her hand and smiled widely, lifting himself up a bit at the compliment.  
  
"I do too… I mean, hanging out with you and stuff. Yeah."   
  
"Makes the learning process easier, doesn't it?" she asked, grinning as the two started walking towards the school's main doors before the bell went. Last thing they wanted was to be stampeded on.  
  
"Oh, yeah, you're a lot nice than those human teachers. And… um… well, I guess I don't really have any other experience with education." He still seemed rather ashamed of his background, his slow pace compensating for his long legs and keeping him in pace with her. The two stopped at the doors and pulled on the big coats they wore, seeing how outside was skattered with snow they needed it. Cten pulled on a light blue jacket before pulling on big black snow boots over blue snow pants.  
  
"Well it's better to start now then never, right?"  
  
"I guess so. I just feel kind of silly having to learn what most hatchlings already know.." He hugged his coat around himself.   
  
"You're still bigger then them." she smirked, pulling the hood up over her head.  
  
"Well yeah, but still." He started crunching through the snow, having an easier time than her since it only came up to his knees and not his waist.  
  
"Heck you're taller then anyone in the class." Cten said, wincing as her snow pants began getting soaked.  
  
"I know, I get enough odd looks…" Poe turned around and looked at her. "Um… want some help?"  
  
"Hmm, I think I do…" she eyed the steam starting to rise from her waist. Poe frowned and turned around, suddenly picking her up bridal-style. He winced at the steam,  
  
"I guess you didn't use any paste today, huh.."  
  
"I thought I did, stupid brain so many things on my mind." Cten crossed her arms, pouting at the snow.  
  
"Well… I think you'll live, it's not that bad." He started off again, headed in the direction of her base first of course.  
  
"Yeah I know that." she smirked, "Still, it does hurt." He did look slightly worried, eventually coming to her base on the outskirts of the city. He nudged the door open and wandered into the living room, shaking his boots off at the door, setting her on the couch.  
  
"Uh… want me to get you some… medical stuff or something?"  
  
"Oh naw, it's not that bad…" Cten said, pulling off her show boots and pants. Her legs were kinda bubbly, but not as bad as usual.  
  
"Well… okay." He glanced at the door sadly, "I guess I should go…" It was obvious he didn't really want to, though.  
  
"If you really want to," she replied, taking her blue parka off. "No real hurry is there?"  
  
"I guess not…" He took off his own coat, hanging it up on something convinient and sitting down beside her. "I just don't want Gor coming looking for me here…"  
  
"Ah yes, Gor..." she shook her head slightly, "He's got problems."  
  
"He is a problem," Poe muttered and stuck his hands in his pants pockets, sighing and leaning back against the couch, "There's not much I can do though.."  
  
"So, you made him like that?" Cten folded her arms, "Didn't know SIR units were so complex… since I have a Beka."  
  
"I didn't _mean_ too.. he kind of.. came with the Voot Crusier and was all panicked because I wasn't his master, so I tried to reprogram him to recognize me as it.."  
  
"And so, he ended up believing he's the Master." she whistled quietly, "That's quite a fete."  
  
"Yeah." He pulled off his wig, letting his antennae sag free, then his contacts and set them aside. "I didn't even know SIRs had the capability to be so cruel, but.. I'm use to him I guess."  
  
"I feel sorry for you, ya know?" Cten leant against the back of the couch, looking at him. "You've gone through so much back on Irk and now you take abuse from a faulty SIR unit." He glanced away slightly,  
  
"Nah, don't worry about me." He grinned, looking over at her, "I'm tough."  
  
"Obviously if you've gotten this far." she smiled. He grinned a bit more broadly, he always did seem to puff up a bit when she complimented him (not like THAT o____O).  
  
"Well… still, at least I haven't had to put up with Zim for all this time. You didn't do so badly yourself."  
  
"Ah, putting up with Zim is like putting up with a little kid. It's all in what you say to him." Cten rubbed her legs, the sores slowly going away. "Putting up with Dib's another matter though."  
  
"Yeah, he's pretty annoying in his own right.." He leaned back against the couch, blowing at his antennae, "Think we'll have it easy one day?"  
  
"I dunno… life isn't meant to be easy, is it?"  
  
"No… but… it'd be nice if it were for a change." He glanced downward sadly.  
  
"Yeah…" she relaxed on the couch, cupping her hands together. "It'd be lovely to have things easy, even if it was for a little while."  
  
"Yeah. Huh.. well, I guess there's always hope for the future." He stared at the blank TV. Cten looked at him, then turned the TV on before leaning against him, the two watching some show about burritoes and gas.  
  
~*~  
  
The Christmas holidays passed, and soon enough it was Januaray. Classes went on as scheduled, Poe's reading was up to par finally with most students, though some long words he had problems with. The two had been dealing with maths now, seeing how important that was. Cten was home now, it was midday on a Sunday and she and Beka were just doing some base cleaning out of boredom. She sighed, wondering what to do for the rest of the day. All of the sudden, a call came on her communications device. Zim was on the monitor, seeming very irate, standing in the living room of his base.  
  
"Solider, I thought it might be imperiative to inform you where I have been recently… I don't want you to get bored or anything!"  
  
"Who're you talkin to, Mom?" an unfamiliar, yet somehow similar young voice wondered off-screen. Cten blinked at the voice,  
  
"Um, Zim what _did_ happen to you lately?" she asked, Beka gazing up at the monitor too now.  
  
"It's a very long story, but.." He reached down and lifted the owner of the mysterious voice with one arm. Zib clung onto his Mom and blinked at the monitor, waving slowly.   
  
"…uh… Cten looked and sounded dumb, staring at the small Irken who seemed to be half Dib and half Zim. She blinked out of it, tilting her head to the side. "Who's that, Zim?"  
  
"This," He adjusted Zib in his arm, "Is Zib. I DID have a BRILLIANT plan to clone myself and form an IMMENSE MANGEMENT STAFF! But the Dib-stink interfered and this was the result. And he escaped. It was only thanks to my AMAZINGNESS that any of us got out of that situation alive! …oh, Gir helped too."  
  
"Noodles in the air vents!" Gir squealed from behind the two, hopping up and down. Cten took this all in,  
  
"I see… um, hello Zib." she gave a small wave to the hybrid, then glanced to Zim. "So you're a Mom?"  
  
"Eh? Don't be sill-"  
  
"Who's that, Mom?"  
  
"That's… erm… Cten. She's my assistant." Zim sighed, resigning himself, and answered her question, "..I suppose, in a totally non-technical manner.."  
  
"Awwwww…" Beka cooed, hugging her feather duster. Cten glanced at her, then turned back to the monitor.  
  
"Well, uh… congratulations, I guess…?" she wasn't really sure what to say here.  
  
"Bah!" Zim didn't feel very lucky, obviously, but grudgingly held onto Zib, "Eh.. erm.. thanks.. I.. think."  
  
"Sooo… do you want me to come over or what…?" Cten was sure that he probably wanted her to get associated with his spawn, clone thingie.  
  
"Yes! That's the whole reason I called. I have much important work to do repairing my lab! And last time I entrusted _Gir_ to watch him this whole fiasco stared."  
  
"Oh, all right then." she saluted him, "Invader Cten signing off, but on her way to Zim's base." Zim nodded curtly, and the connection closed. By the time she arrived at his base, Zim could take it no more, and practically shoved Zib and Gir into Cten's arms as soon as she opened the door; he looked exhasperated, and the kitchen and living room were in ruins.  
  
"Take them, PLEASE!"  
  
"What the--"  
  
"HI MISS CTEN!" Gir squealed, and hugged her around the neck and made purring sounds. Cten glanced around the mess, eyes widening slightly.  
  
"Oh... my...!" The door to the lower lab was already shutting close, Zim giving her no time to argue. Zib blinked up at Cten and grinned, mimicking Gir,  
  
"Hi Ms. Cten!" She looked down at him, smiling slightly,  
  
"Hi, Zib..." Cten set Gir down and the little robot ran to the TV, turning it on to watch some show about weeds.  
  
"You're an alien too?" Zib wondered, examining Cten's green cheek thoughtfully. "Just how many of you _are_ on Earth?" He asked innocently enough.  
  
"U-huh." she replied, setting him down. "Well, there's me, your Mom, Poe… so technically three."  
  
"Three? That doesn't seem like enough for a full scale.. invasion.. thingee." He still looked ponderous as he was set down, sitting down on the floor. Gir, meanwhile, was ice-skating around a puddle of inidentifiable goo that was spilled on the carpet.  
  
"We work well in small groups... it's just me and Zim really." Cten glanced at Gir wh owas doing a spinning in one spot faster and faster.  
  
"Yeah, my Mommy doesn't need that much help conquering this filth ball!" Zib said with a happy pride, holding onto his feet. He then blinked around at the mess, "..that was Gir's fault," he said quickly.   
  
"I'm sure it was Zib." Cten glanced down to see she had stood in a pile of yucky goo too, and poked her tongue out in disgust. "Yuck... well, I guess we should get the base to clean this stuff up..." Cten turned her head back to Zib. "How about we go out for a little bit while the base does?"  
  
"Okay!" Zib hadn't even been back in the base a full half-hour and he was already bored again, "Let's go doom some skeptics!"  
  
"Yeah, that's always fun." she glanced around, "Um, where do you keep your contacts…?"  
  
"Yeah, that's always fun." she glanced around, "Um, where do you keep your contacts...?"  
  
"Contacts?" Zib stared up at her blankly; "You mean like Mom wears? Oh, um.." Zib reached into his coat pocket and produced a pair, "Mom gave me these on our way home but didn't show me how to put them in."  
  
"I'll show you, it's kinda tricky…" she got her own contacts out of her shirt pocket, "Now pay attention young man." Cten held her eyelid up, and placed the contact on. She blinked a few times, now looking at him with one contacted eye, one natural blue. "They're kinda stingy, but we got drops for that." Zib watched her, making a slight face at the process, but took off his glasses and tried to mimic her. He hesitated quite a bit before finally shoving the contact in, making a pained face and tearing up. Cten watched him, handing him a tissue as he teared up.  
  
"Not a nice process I know..." He dabbed at his eye and put the other one in with a bit more difficulty, but after a few blinks a pair of eyes that looked just like Zim's, but with Dib's hazel shade were staring up at her.  
  
"There. And you're lucky, you don't have to wear an itchy wig." she smiled, pointing to the blonde wig adorning her head.  
  
"I guess not, but it keeps getting caught on… sticky… out… things!" He tried to smooth back his hair, but it sprung back into a combonation of the non-scythe-like portions of Dib's hair and what seemed to be a non-gel-ed version of Zim's pompadour that acted as a little forelock. "Where we goin first, Ms. Cten?"  
  
"Well, there's lots of places where we can take notes of human behaviour. I heard snack bars are good places, plus you can get something to eat if you're hungry." she pointed out, as she placed her other contact in. Gir had left the room, probably to see what his Master was up to down below.  
  
"To the snack bar, then!" He pointed forward and they started off.  
  
[To be continued!]


	5. Chapter 5

Deformity is an Understatement  
Written by Cartman's Girl and Invader Poe  
  
~*~  
  
Chapter Five  
  
Gor was never an easy robot to live with. Always demanding things from Poe, or any other human child or adult who ran into him when he was in a foul mood. Which was 24/7 pretty much. Right now Gor was pacing the main room in the base, thinking of something to do. He then stopped walking as an idea formed in his metal brain of his. Poe had shown no signs of wanting to run away from him, to give him the thrill of the chase. Now, if he released his Slave he'd get more delight out of this then before, because this way he wouldn't drag Poe back. He'd keep loosening his grip on him until the Irken believed he was free, then reel him back in so fast it'd make his head spin. Gor grinned, showing his pointy teeth,  
  
"Oh Gor, you evil thing you..." he said aloud to himself. After some time, Gor's plan was falling into place. Poe was confused; Gor had taken him out to the park in the middle of the night, and there they were now, Gor still holding onto the leash, but giving it a lot of slack. He glanced back at the robot.  
  
"Why… why are we here?- …Master." He added quickly, but not without a note of disgust.  Gor glanced around the darkness, then simply walked up to Poe and began untying the leash.  
  
"We're here Slave, because I've had a… change of CPU." he said, stepping back holding the leash.  
  
"You're… letting me go?" Poe glanced down at the robot's hands as he undid the leash. He looked somewhat nervous, "This isn't just some sort of trick, is it?"  
  
"Oh no, _course_ not." Gor waved a hand, "You can go do whatever your Slave insides want of you. I've grown tired of you." he smiled at him, hint of evillness still lurking in his features. Poe eyed the frigid smile suspiciously, but the excuse seemed sound enough, for Gor. He just nodded slightly, backing away and started running off in the opposite direction before the robot changed his mind. Gor watched Poe vanished into the darkness. He turned and headed off where came from, laughing slightly. Soon he was out of sight, but his laughter could be heard echoing through the park, freaking some squirrels.  
  
Some time later there was a tentative knock on Cten's door. It was late, and he was probably waking her, but well, he didn't really have anyplace else to go. He was covered in leaves and twigs from trying to evade any following on Gor's part by diving into bushes and behind trees and the like; he also looked exhausted. The door slowly opened, Cten stood there in a nightgown. Unlike Zim, she changed her clothing to suit her. She was wearing a light blue dressing gown over a white nightgown.  
  
"Poe? What are you doing here this… early in the morning?" she paused to check her clock on the wall.  
  
"Sorry… Gor… um… Gor kind of let me go, or kicked me out… I'm… not sure which." He pulled a leaf out of his hair, leaning against the open door.  
  
"No way, really?" she opened the door wider to let him in, "Why'd he do that?"  
  
"I'm… not sure. He hasn't been as intent on keeping me under his thumb lately." Poe stumbled in and nearly collapsed on the floor, managing to sit down normally on the couch, "He just dragged me out into the middle of the park and undid the leash…" Cten shut the door and locked it, and walked over to him, standing by the couch.  
  
"That's really… weird Poe. So, I guess you didn't have anywhere else to go huh?"  
  
"No, sorry." He glanced down at his lap, looking somewhat ashamed, "I'll find some place to stay in the morning, I just needed some place for tonight…"  
  
"Oh no no no, it's fine!" she sat down besides him on the couch, "Look, you can stay here with me if you want." He ran his hand through his mussed wig, taking it off in the process, and blinking over at her.  
  
"I… can? I don't want to be an inconvienence…"  
  
"No inconvienence at all." Cten smiled slightly, "It'd be nice having another Irken around the place… Beka's all right, but sometimes you just wanna have a conversation with a living thing. Plus, it helps you out."  
  
"That's true." He scratched the side of his head and pulled out his contacts, shaking his antennae free. "It'd certainly be better than going back to being homeless… but… I mean, only if you really want to."  
  
"Course I really want to, silly." she hit his arm playfully, before getting up off the couch. "It's fine!" He flinched slightly when she hit him, before blinking his eyes open again and trying to relax.  
  
"Alright, um…" He stood up as well, "Do you have any spare rooms? I mean, I could just sleep on the couch, that's what I did at my base…"  
  
"This base is weird, I'll say that much. There's a spare room across the way from mine." Cten headed to the stairs, turning back and gesturing him to follow her. "C'mon, I'll show you the room." He nodded and followed her automatically, trudging up the stairs. When showed his room, he stared at it, even though it was fairly plain, or as plain as any part of an Irken base was. He looked down at her,  
  
"Th… thanks, Cten. I've never… really had a bed to call my own before."  
  
"Well now you do." she grinned, leaning against the door. "Do whatever you want, it's your room now." Cten glanced back across the hallway at her room, Beka in sleep mode visible through the door way. "But now… I'm heading back to bed." He nodded,  
  
"Good night… um, neighbor." He grinned slightly down at her.  
  
"G'night neighbor." Cten grinned back, before heading back to her room and half closing the door. Poe watched her leave, before dragging himself into his room and collapsing on the bed.  
  
Poe fell into a fitful sleep almost as soon as he hit the bed. His dreams were almost never pleasent, usually full of fear and darkness, and this one was no different; Gor was chasing him, but his persuer seemed omnipresent, no matter what direction he turned, there was the whip, poised to strike. There was suddenly an inferno in his dream, and he found himself covered in blood. He reached down, patting it in disbelief, bringing it to his face; and the next thing he knew he was letting out an unearthly howl of rage and torment, something that probably carried over into the waking world. Indeed it did, and by this time it was morning. Cten sat up in bed, Beka also being startled awake and entering her 'defence mode'. Meaning, she pulled what she thought was a laser from her head - it was actually an egg beater. Cten rubbed her eyes sleepily as Beka stalked to the door and peered out into the hallway.  
  
"Whua… wait, Beka!" Cten crawled to the end of the bed, the robot looking back at her. "That was probably Poe, Beka."  
  
"...what's he doing here?" the robot stared blankly at her mistress for a while. Cten smiled, climbing off the bed.  
  
"Because, Gor let him go and he's got no place else." Beka narrowed an eye, but shrugged putting the egg beater back into her head as she oepned the door and stared at the partly closed door where Poe slept.  
  
"If you say so…" Poe blinked awake, realizing he was sitting up in bed and clutching a bundle of blankets. He was in a cold sweat, breathing raggedly as he tried to recall where he was and why he was there, the voices out in the hallway not helping. Beka, still being the panic-like robot she was walked over to his door - her radar vision kicking in so she now saw through the wall, and the Irken sat on the bed. Her censors flashed something in Irken about his certain state of mind, and she narrowed an eye. She then pushed at the door gently, it swinging open. He jumped at the sound, eyeing her warily and backing up in bed, having a kind of 'not quite there' look in his eyes; things started to fall back into place in his memory, and he sagged, recognizing the robot finally.  
  
"Um, h-hi, Beka…"  
  
"Good morning Sir Poe…" the robot sounded rather edgy, if a robot can sound edgy. Maybe she could sense how dangerous he could become, and being worried especially with her mistress around. "I see you didn't have a good sleep?"  
  
"I'm… I'm alright… I just usually have bad dreams." He finally released his death grip in the blanket, holding it up and revealing a few claw-marks torn into it. He winced, "Sorry…"  
  
"Aw, I liked those blankets." Beka sighed,  
  
"I'll try to fix them later or something.. and.." Beka's eyecams flashed quickly.  
  
"But! Either way, what would you like for breakfast this morning?" Poe looked around, since he hadn't had a good look the night previous.  
  
"If it's too much trouble I can just go out and get my own breakfast, but…"  
  
"But that's my reason for being you know." she smirked slightly, before turning towards the door. "Mistress is already awake, if you have to know."  
  
"Um… thanks then." He folded back his antennae. He was use to not being popular with SIR units, but her edgyness was making him edgy in turn. He followed her at a safe distance through the door. She lead him down the stair way to the lounge, and through to the kitchen. Cten was now in her usual uniform, sipping a box of purple juice.  
  
"Morning Poe." she said as Beka made her way to the fridge. He nodded, "M.. morning." He started to look around for food, then decided on sitting down next to Cten. He had learned about sit-down, pre-cooked(not to mention pre-killed) meals, but he was still new to it, so he pretended to become raptly interested in a fork on the table.  
  
"Bad dream?" she asked before sipping her juice again.  
  
"Yeah… kinda." He held his antennae back further, practically oozing tension, and a sudden motion or loud sound would probably send him bolting. Cten looked at him, her antennae twitching as it picked up the vibes he was sending off. And baby, he was sending em off like fireworks.  
  
"You look stressed you know, you need something to calm yourself down."  
  
"I'm fine, really… I'm fine." Maybe it was  combonation of his dream, his illness, and the fact he felt like he was intruding in the house of his only real friend, but he looked far from it. "Just… just… uneasy… that's all."  
  
"Hmm…" she put her juice down, "You know Poe you aren't being a problem at all if that's what you're worried about." Cten smiled slightly, "I'm fine with you living here, we get on well."  
  
"I'm not?" He looked over at her, his hands figiting nervously in his lap. His antennae relaxed slightly, and he glanced at the floor, "I guess I'm just worried Gor's going to come back for me any minute now…"  
  
"I see…" Cten tapped her chin, "Well that's something I have no control over really... but the base is well secure either way."  
  
"I know.. I guess I'm afraid something is going to happen, or he'd do something to you-or, or the base, I mean." He turned away in his seat somewhat.  
  
"You don't have to worry about me, Poe." she leant forward, looking at him even if he turned away slightly. "I'm fine with taking care of myself, and I know you are too."  
  
"I know, I know," he mumbled, more to himself, "I'll… I'll probably be better once I eat something."  
  
"And here it is." Beka walked up to the table, placing a plate in front of Poe. It seemed to be bacon, some sausages, toast and so forth. "I picked up on your genetic material and seeing how you eat meat I suspected you'd prefer meat." the robot handed Cten her usual buttered toast.  
  
"Thanks Beka." Cten smiled before biting into a piece of toast. Poe would have thanked her had he not been ravenous; he started wolfing down his food without the aid of his silverware almost immediately, showing no reguard for the ettiqutte he'd tried so hard to maintain earlier. Beka stared blankly at him for a while, before handing Cten a napkin and walking off. Cten smirked, putting it down between herself and Poe and kept eating. Poe didn't stop when he was out of food, he just picked up the plate and started licking it off with his long, segmented tongue; he was about to bite onto the edge of it when he seemed to realize what he was doing, blinking from over the edge of the plate as his teeth rest against the ceramic. Cten simply held out the napkin to him, as she was sipping her juice again. Poe put the plate down gingerly and wiped off his mouth, sighing and looking a bit ill, not at the food but at his behaviour. He leaned back in the seat and slid the napkin up his face, effectively burying it in the paper.  
  
"I must say, I've never seen such a hungry Irken before." she said, while pausing from her juice box.  
  
"I guess I have a… high metabolism or something." He recalled the term from Biology class as he dragged the napkin down his face and discarded it on the table. "Sorry for being such a… what was the term? Horse, cow… oh, pig."  
  
"It's all right, Poe." Cten looked at the empty plate, "Saves Beka the time of washing the plates." she smiled at the stupid joke, finishing her juice off finally. He did seem a bit more relaxed now that hunger wasn't gnawing away at his brain as well. He glanced over at her plate,  
  
"..want me to do your's, too?"  
  
"Oh I dunno, toast isn't meat." she glanced at the crumbs on her plate, "But if you really want to knock yourself out." Beka, if she could, roll her eyes at the display but just simply began looking through the cupboards. No sooner had she said that than he lunged over and grasped the sides of her plate and started attacking it as he had the last - huh, he really must be hungry then. It was probably the first decent meal he had in ages. Cten watched him, then stood up.  
  
"You still hungry, Poe?" He paused and stood up, forcing himself to let go of the plate, "…a… little… I guess."  
  
"C'mon, I know a good place where you can get good food so Beka can have a break." she held her hand out to him. Poe blinked and reached out for her hand, less tentative than he had been in previous encounters, wiping off his mouth with his other sleeve. She took his hand, and lead him from the room. Shortly after the two were walking down the street towards some smaller 'snack bars', on the corner of town. After ordering some hefty meals for Poe, the two are sat waiting outside on the sidewalk, watching the town slowly waking up.  
  
"Human beings are indeed weird, you know Poe?" Cten asked, scratching at her wig. "I mean, a person is fine but a whole load of them are insane."   
  
"What makes you say that?" He looked over at her, his arms folded on the table, "They don't seem that much different than Irkens to me…"   
  
"I _mean_, look at us. We're green, no nose, no ears, nothing. Yet people walk past, ignoring us. While just one person notices the difference." Cten shook her head, leaning on the table with one arm. "It's just… pathetic."  
  
"Oh." He watched a few cars pass by. "People tend to shut out what they don't want to think about.. it makes things easier."  
  
"So are they afraid to learn then?" she looked at him, "Cause that's what keeps a race going."

  
"Afraid of what they don't understand." He looked down at the table and tapped his fingers together, "Some just ignore it, other seek to control it so they won't  be afraid of it anymore."  
  
"Sad." Cten shook her head slowly, then glanced up as a waiter placed the big tray of Poe's order in front of them and walked off again.

  
"It's not just them though.." He perked up when the food was placed in front of him and reached in, pulling out a burger and eating half of it in one bite, "I mean.." He chewed, "Look at Zim."  
  
"I know... maybe being with humans has made him act the way he does. Or maybe he was always like that." she sighed, leaning against her chair. "Guess we'll never know." He shook his head and put the rest of the burget in his mouth.  
  
"Most Irkens I met…" He swallowed, "…were like him. Like humans. The Rejects feared the normal Irkens… and they feared us."  
  
"Man I've been sheltered." Cten muttered to herself. "Don't even know how my species is meant to act."  
  
"It's alright." He pulled out the box of fries and pulled a handful of potato slivers out, "I like you the way you are."  
  
"Really?" she looked at him, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Yeah." He put the fries in his mouth and grinned toothily at her, one jutting out between his teeth, "You're nice."  
  
"Aw.." Cten bit her bottom lip, grinning slightly. "Well, I like you too." He swallowed the fries and continued,  
  
"And you're really smart," He pulled one fry away, "And not only do you tolerate me," another fry, "But you try and tutor me," and another, "And now you even let me live with you." He held up the fries and looked over at her, "You're not like any Irken I've ever met, Cten." She smirked at him, blushing slightly now.  
  
"Aw stop it…" Cten leant back onto her chair, "It just seems like the right thing to do, to me at least… I mean you're really nice. Nicer then Irkens I've met, and humans I've met."  
  
"Well, it's true." He bit the fries in half, and tilted his head a bit, his grin broadening, "Aw, thanks… I could keep going on, too." He arched his brows, his tone taking on a hint of… what would seem to be flirtateousness.  
  
"Oh you better stop before I blush myself to death." she replied, sounding just as flirtateous back at him.  
  
"Fine. I bet you'd look cute, though." He leaned back again and finished off most of the fries, offering the rest to her, "Want some?"  
  
"Yes please." she took some from him and ate two of them, then grinned and waved the remaining one at him. "Open wide Poe, let's see if I can throw this into your mouth or something…"  He raised an eye-ridge at her but obliged, stretching his mouth wide open and letting his tongue dangle out. Cten stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth and threw it, the fry being pierced on a tooth.  
  
"Woo, score!" Poe squinted his eyes open and glanced down, curling his tongue around the impaled fry and pulling it into his mouth.  
  
"Too bad I don't have any prizes on me to award you with.."  
  
"I'm sure you'll find _something_." Cten smiled back at him, hinting on the flirteous side again.  
  
"Hm.." He spied her hand and took it in his own, leaning down and planting a kiss on the back of it, something else he'd seen on TV.  She couldn't _help_ but giggle like a human skool girl at this, blushing again.  
  
"Yeah, that works." He grinned again and pulled back slightly, before scrutinizing her hand a bit more.  
  
"Hm… you taste like french fries."  
  
"I do?" Cten looked at her skin, then smirked at him. "Can I find out what you taste like then? Only to be fair, of course." He raised his eye-ridges again, leaning back in his seat and resting his cheek in one of his palms, the other balancing on the back of his seat, somewhat held out towards her,  
  
"Sure. Fair's fair"  
  
"All right." she took his hand and then kissed his knuckle, once, then twice. Cten ran her tongue over her lips, then grinned at him. "You taste, oddly enough, you taste musky."  
  
"Is that, uh, good or bad?" He looked mildly worried, a slight falter from his previous flirtatious suave.  
  
"I like musky stuff. So good." Cten grinned.  
  
[To be continued!]


	6. Chapter 6

Deformity is an Understatement  
Written by Cartman's Girl and Invader Poe  
  
~*~  
  
Chapter Six  
  
Sometime later, at the, er, Zim residence, the namesake was in a dilemma. Zim paced in circles in his living room around Cten and Zib,  
  
"This is BAD! Gir is incapable of performing his baby-sitting duties and I require your assitance in gathering supplies for my latest ingenious plot of doom!" He paused here to make a dramatic fist, then looked over at his offspring. "Who's going to make sure Zib doesn't get into my Head Explosion Chamber or something equally messy?"  
  
"Mom I wouldn't do th-you have a Head Explosion Chamber??" Zib's eyes widened at the idea, Cten looked down at the clone/hybrid/spawn thingie, then at Zim.  
  
"Well, Zim… I know this is a long shot since Dib is 'away' checking his big foot traps again… why not let Poe watch him? I mean, it's only for an hour or so…"  
  
"The Reject?! Never! Why I could come back to find Zib eaten alive or some such!" Zim waved his hands, "Absolutely, positively, NO way in all of Irk--"  
  
"I could just watch myself you know…" Zib suggested. Zim blinked, pondering this suggestion, then sagged.  
  
"…fine… I suppose the Reject can't do… TOO much damage within that short amount of time."  
  
"Allright, I'll get him 'round here." Cten sparked her communicator to life, Zib looking to his Mom.  
  
"Mom, who's Poe?" he'd never seen or heard about Poe, probably sine Zim didn't want him to know about the Reject.  
  
"The Reject… _Poe_," Zim spat the name, "Is a highly dangerous sub-Irken specimen that Cten here has taken an liking to." He glanced over at Cten with a glare, and herded Zib away from her, "I want you to be on your best behaviour then, Zib, there's no telling what might make him snap!" Poe yelped when his own communicator leapt out of his pod; he never would get use to that.  
  
"Um, hey, Cten…"  
  
"Hey Poe. Look, urgent situation has happened. See, I need to go with Zim to pick up supplies for our next plan of doom and, seeing as how Gir can't watch Zib at all, we were wondering if you could." Cten got to the chase quickly, since every second that ticked by that Zim wasn't doing his planning, he was becoming angrier. Zib glanced at Cten with the communicator, then looked up at Zim.  
  
"Whoa, _really_? Could he chew and spit you out?"  
  
"What?" A look of nervousness crossed Zim's face, "Don't be silly, Zib! He couldn't touch an Irken of my extensive military training!" He waved his hand dismissively. Poe blinked,  
  
"Me? Well, I don't know, I don't have any experience with kids, but…" He could detect the urgency in Cten's voice, then nodded, "I'll… I'll be over soon."  
  
"Thanks Poe, thanks a bunch." Cten switched it off, the communicator vanishing back into her pod. Zib looked to her, his antennae/hair scythes faltering.  
  
"Is it true a blood-thirsty killer is gonna be my watcher, Ms. Cten?" he asked, sounding very highly interested in the Reject. Cten blinked at him, and gave off a slight glare in Zim's direction before looking at Zib.  
  
"Well, he isn't a _killer_… but either way be good."  
  
"Aw that's what Mom said…"  
  
"So far as YOU know!" Zim huffed, folding his arms and tapping his boot-clad toe impatiently. Soon enough, Poe rang the doorbell, and when it was opened, he strode in, his coat trailing behind him, hands in his pockets, and looming over everyone in the room. Zim let out an involuntery 'eep' before muttering, "I can't believe I agreed to this.." Zib let out a similar 'eep', staring up at the tall Irken.  
  
"Wow… he's so _tall_!" he said quietly to himself. Cten pulled her wig on,  
  
"All right then Poe, we'll be back in an hour. Just try not to… um… all of the above." she smirked, walking to the transporter which would take the two to Zim's Voot Cruiser.  
  
"We'll be fine." Poe said with an assured wave of his hand, and Zim watched Cten walk away. He turned to Poe,  
  
"And if I find one HAIR on Zib out of place -- well you'll be sorry, I'll tell you that!" He snapped, and Poe couldn't help but chuckle.  
  
"He'll be fine, Zim." He did seem more relaxed nowadays, starting to finally find himself free, well-fed, and living with his friend. Zim glared at him suspiciously before stalking after Cten. Poe glanced down at Zib, noticing how he was gaping over his height, Poe kneeled down so he might be a little less intimidating,  
  
"Tall? Yeah, I get that a lot." He grinned. Zib stepped back, still in little-kid awe of Poe's tallness, now at the sharp teeth the Irken had.  
  
"Ooo..." he managed to mumble, never seeing anything like Poe before. Poe sat down on the ground and folded his legs.  
  
"Don't worry, I don't bite." He drummed his chin in thought, "I'm, uh, kinda new to this… so… what do you wanna do?"  
  
"I dunno." Zib shrugged, then raised an eyeridge. "Are you really a killer?" Poe held his antennae back and winced, not quite sure how to answer it.  
  
"Well… uh… I haven't killed any _people_, if that's what you mean."  
  
"I see… so Irkens _do_ turn vicious when they need to be, or is it in your genetic material?" as Zib asked this, he whipped out a pad and pencil from his jacket, sounding much older then he really was, which was just a few weeks old now.  
  
"Maybe it's necessity… maybe it's just me. I've met some other Irkens that were like me, but…" He shook his head. "It's hard to explain. Something in my head." He made a motion near his head in demonstration.  
  
"Genetic material causes your… nastiness. Okay." Zib jotted it down, then put his pad and pencil back away. "Thanks!"  
  
"You're… um, welcome." He turned his head at Zib, "Don't most hatchlings like… I don't know… making messes… wrestling, playing with stuff?"  
  
"I get in trouble with Mom if I make a mess…" Zib kicked at the ground, his antennae/hair scythes drooping.  
  
"Yeah… grown ups can be pretty picky about that kind of thing." He pondered, "Hm, how do people usually keep hatchlings entertained… um… Hm!" If he couldn't figure out some way hatchlings were entertained, maybe he'd just do something he did to entertain himself. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a book, "Do you read, Zib?" Zib shook his head,  
  
"I still can't read, see?" he pulled his pad back out and shown it to Poe, it was just scribbles really that looked similar to what he was talking about. "I write with pictures now... but I wanna know how to read." Poe nodded in genuine understanding.  
  
"It's hard, but it's worth it. To be honest, I only learned how a little while ago… Most learn to read when they're about your age though. Maybe I could give you a lesson?"  
  
"Really? That'd be neat!" Zib held his pad paper in his hands, looking at the book in Poe's claw. "And what book's that?" Poe held out the book for him to see; it was black with a disturbing wrap-around illustration on the cover. "This is an… Anth… ology of H. P. Lovecraft. He's a really cool author, even if he does use lots of, um, oversized words." Zib blinked at the cover, then looked at Poe.  
  
"Oh, okay then. This'll be great, when Mom gets back I'll know a _few_ words at least!"  
  
Some time later, the attic roof was opening up, the Voot Cruiser setting down on the floor, the glow of the thrusters dying. The back of the Cruiser was full of all sorts of junk, Cten and Zim pretty much packed in; when the bubble opened, an explosion of stuff toppled out with them. Zim muttered about insufficient storage capabilities and dusted himself off, but suddenly jolted when a wailing came from downstairs.  
  
"Zib?!" Cten sat up, some junk falling off since she'd been bombared with the assortment of space junk.  
  
"What's going on?" she muttered, trying to pull a big human boot off from her feet. Zim couldn't answer, he was racing downstairs, well, as much as riding in an elevator anxiously could count as racing. Poe was sighing, restraining Zib with one arm,  
  
"I thought you wanted to learn how to read, Zib!"  
  
"SOMETHING LESS HORRIBLE!" The spawn whimpered, covering his head. Zim finally entered the room via a hole in the ceiling, the floatation device slamming into the ground. Zib, still trying to pry himself out of Poe's clutches seemed to brighten a heck of a lot as his Mom entered the scene. Still in the 'wailing' mood he reached his arms out to Zim, for the effect he made his eyes water too.  
  
"MOMMY!!" he wailed, Cten arriving via another entrance, the boot finally off her feet. Say the least, she looked confused. Poe sighed and let him go, putting the book down and shaking his head.  
  
"That's odd, I liked it when Cten read to me… I wonder what his problem is."  
  
"Zib, what'd that awful savage do to you?!" Zim scooped Zib up in his arms and hugged him tightly, cradling the back of his head and looking almost as anxious as Zib himself. Zib clung to Zim for dear life, sniffling somehow or another - what with no nose.  
  
"I-it was horrible Mom! The, the story wa-was just _awful_!" since he'd started the crocodile tears he couldn't stop now, and just bawled into Zim's shoulder. Cten blinked, walking up to Poe on the couch.  
  
"Um, what _did_ you read him, Poe?"  
  
Poe held out the book. "One of my favourite stories from the HP Lovecraft anthology." He scratched the back of his head in confusion. Zim looked up from Zib at Poe, with a glare that was feirce, even by Zim standards,  
  
"You, out, NOW!" He shrieked, pointing at the door. Poe looked even more confused, backing up against the couch.   
  
"I see.." Cten muttered as Zim was doing his screeching, taking the book from him and flipping through the pages. Zib continued his bawling, wiping his eyes with his gloved wrist. Cten looked to Poe, then took his arm. "Come on Poe, you really need to get going anyway..." she said, trying to avoid any possible fights. Zim was only getting more infuriated, looking like he was about to burst a blood vessel, snapping  
  
"Yes, remove your pet Reject from my base at once, Solider!" Poe nodded, slinking out the door, though at a somewhat hurried pace. She handed him his book as he left, looking back at Zim.  
  
"Zim, do you want me to go or stay here and assist you in anyway?" Cten couldn't help but feel guilty, since Zib was now upset since she had given Zim the idea that Poe could watch him without any incident arrising.  
  
"You're the one that brought him over in the first place!" Zim snarled and made a shoo-ing motion, never one to care if someone was guilty or not. "No, I don't need your assistance!"  
  
"Yes sir." she gave him a small salute, leaving and closing the door behind her. Gir opened the door shortly after, smothered in mud and ice cream, with a lolly pop stuck to his head.  
  
"Hi Master! What's going down on the west side??" he chirped.  
  
"I'm not in the mood Gir!!" Zim huffed and returned to patting Zib, his angry face softening when he looked down at him. Poe was walking down the street, away from Zim's base, hands in his pockets, his disguise hastily put on. He looked somewhat guilty himself. Cten was following after him, glaring at the sidewalk as she walked along. She was muttering something or other, but it's best left unknown at this time. Poe looked over at her, and sunk away slightly.  
  
"I'm sorry Cten… for whatever I did."  
  
"Oh… not your fault. How were you to know that kind of story would scare a little kid?" she said more louder then her mutters.  
  
"But still.. I messed up and I got you in trouble didn't I?"  
  
"Bah, I get in trouble with Zim for anything. Nothing new to me."  
  
"I still feel bad." He said quietly, but slowly moved back into range. "I guess I'm just not good with kids…" Cten smirked, and nodded.  
  
"Got that right." she said jokingly, then looked up at him. "It's not a big thing needed for Irken life anyway, not like we're raised by parents."  
  
"I guess." He pulled at his collar, "I'm not even sure why I'm worrying about it anyway, it's not like there are any other kids around that I'll have to take care of and Zim probably won't let me even look in Zib's direction without screaming now."  
  
"Least you get out of babysitting duty." Cten said, "Not that I don't like it, I like looking after him." she smirked to herself, "Always did like little smeets."  
  
"Really? I guess they're okay.. I haven't ran into many since.. well, I was one." He looked forward, "I saw them with their mothers on the streets sometime.. They're always scared of me." He looked a bit.. sad? Well, maybe.  
  
"What's wrong, Poe?" she saw the sad look on his face, or maybe his tone of voice.  
  
"I dunno, I just feel bad when people are intimidated by me." He glanced away. "Maybe because a small part of me wants to intimidate them."  
  
"But why? So you wouldn't be hassled by anyone?"  
  
"Maybe… or… I dunno… Maybe it's my instincts…" He kicked at the ground as he went, trying to disappear into his coat. "If they act too scared, they start to remind me of… of… other things."  
  
"Oh." Cten felt that no would be a good time to drop it, seeing how Poe was shying away in his own way.  
  
"Sorry, there's just… a lot of things I don't like about myself." He shook his head, "Like I said, there's no point in me worrying about it anyway, not like I'm ever gonna have kids." He snorted at the idea.  
  
"Hyeah…" she shrugged to herself, glancing across the street where a palyground stood. Some little snot-nosed kiddies were playing together. "Still, having a family would be nice." she said quietly to herself, before looking back to where she was going. Poe looked over at her, having heard her; his large antenna gave him better hearing than most Irkens.  
  
"Well, hey, I'm sure you'll find someone someday. You won't be stuck here forever, right?" She stared at him, then closing her eyes and sighed.  
  
"I don't really care, Poe. I'm happy wherever I am."  
  
"Well, that's a good philosophy to have.. I just imagine it'd be easy to get lonely, if you didn't wanna be alone." He looked up at the sky as he walked.  
  
"I have Beka... I've always had Beka. But, having you living at my place it's made me realise I like company."  
  
"Really?" He smiled slightly, glancing over at her out of the corner of his eye. He chuckled softly, "Glad I'm good for something, then."  
  
"Aw you're good at being my comany Poe, and I like it heaps." Cten grinned back at him, flipping the ends of her blonde wig. He smiled broadly.  
  
"Hey, you don't make bad company yourself." He reached over, poking her shoulder gently.  
  
"Thanks, means a lot." she glanced off, "I still have no idea where you found that book."  
  
"That book… place… thingee was giving away some books. I liked the cover." He took the book out and looked at it, "Besides my coat, this book is one of the few things I actually have…"  
  
"Well, having posessions aren't that important. The only thing I can really call my own is… um…" Cten paused, thinking it over. "Beka I guess…"  
  
"Yeah… it was kind of a big thing where I come from though." He looked down at the book, "People collected whatever stuff they could find that wasn't totally worthless. I mean, it was worthless to the normal Irkens, but things had more meaning there. There wasn't much money, so sometimes people traded their stuff around." He put the book back in his pocket. "And sometimes, when you don't have anything you hang onto material stuff like that I guess…"  
  
"Yeah… well being a Maid I never really had anything to call my own. I was mostly cleaning, bringing menus, bringing food, taking dishes, washing dishes, more cleaning…" Cten trailed off and blinked, reasling she just told Poe she was a Maid, not an Invader as he had beleived she had been. "Um. Yes." she coughed. He looked over at her in confusion, tilting his head.  
  
"A Maid? I thought… you were some kind of solider. I mean.. if the Tallest themselves assigned you here and all…"  
  
"Uhhh…" Cten glanced away, sweating bullets now. She kept quiet for a while, a bird chirps, a dog barks, a cat meow and a squirrel… um, squeaks. "Okay okay. I'll be honest." she placed a hand to her chest, "I am, and always have been a Maid towards the Almighty Tallest since my training was completed." she nodded, waving a hand. "Yes, they themselves assigned me here, but only because they wanted Zim to beleive he was on a real mission s'more so he wouldn't bother them."  
  
"Oh. Well, that's okay." He smiled and shrugged, not seeming really phased, "I thought you were awful nice to be in the military or something like that."   
  
"Heh yeah… my life was full of being a servant." Cten wiped her brow, "Lucky I'm not a Table Headed Service Drone like Bob."  
  
"Yeah." He looked around at the environment, "It's kind of nice not having to worry as much about authority anymore.. I wish Zim would lay off of you though." He snorted quietly.  
  
"Hey, it's what I'm here for. To be his lacky, and do what he tells me." she glanced around, whispering to him. "I'm lucky he hasn't asked me to do anything dirty. I heard some stories about Maids being given to outcasted Invaders and it never ended well." He frowned and looked over at her with concern, drawing a bit closer to her.  
  
"Well… he'd better not." His voice lowered a pitch and he glared ahead, "For his sake." Cten blinked in surprise at his remark, glancing nervously to the side.  
  
"Yeeahh, I guess." Poe looked over at her, his face softening,  
  
"You're my friend and I don't want anything to happen to you, Cten. And if something did I… probably wouldn't be very nice to whatever did it."   
  
"That's nice Poe…" she patted his shoulder, "I just wish I'd be able to do the same back for you, if anything bad ever happened to you… I'm not exactly… able to protect myself." He was tense for a moment, but soon relaxed, shaking his head.  
  
"That's okay. I take care of myself, and you too if nessicary." Cten smiled gently, then leant up and pecked him on the cheek.  
  
"Thanks." Poe blinked, a blush breaking out on his face. He smiled nervously back at her,  
  
"Oh, it's my pleasure…"  
  
"Now come on, let's go find a way to waste the rest of the day." she grinned at him, as she began walking again.

~*~  
  
Zim pulled his Irken helmet over his head, and stood out of his lab. He was dressed in his space-cruiser uniform, the one he'd used previously when battling in space. Plus he's now got a spiffy helmet.  
  
"All right… now, I've got the Voot Cruiser ready, Gir glued to the television set, the convention invitation… what am I forgetting…" he put a finger to his chin, "I know it's something important…" Zib wandered by conviently, munching on a slice of pizza. Who knows where he got that. He looked up at his suited-up Mom, antennae-hair perking,  
  
"Hey, Mom, where you goin'?" Zim blinked, lifted the eye guard from the helmet and looked down at Zib.  
  
"Yargh! I knew I forgot something! What am I to do with you?!" he paused, staring at the pizza. Zib quickly tucked the pizza behind his back as he recalled he wasn't suppose to have human food, "…anyway, Zib, I have an important meeting convention thingie happening on the Earth's Moon tonight, but I can't leave you here alone with Gir… my base would be destroyed by the time I return…"  
  
"We'll be good!" Zib insisted, "Who would watch us anyway?"  
  
"Dib for one…" Zim's eyes narrowed as he glanced at the window, "I need a watcher so nothing gets too out of hand…"  
  
"I thought Dad was out on some trip into the country to see if any of the Bigfoot traps he set up last month worked." Zib stuffed the last of his pizza into his mouth while his mom was distracted by the window.  
  
"Hah, knowing him he has spy cams set up… or something… Dibish." he frowned, then grinned. "I know the perfect person! Well, not perfect, but it'll have to do."  
  
"Who?" Zib sought his memory, which wasn't the best considering he was just a little kid. Suddenly he blanched and cowered away, "Oh, no, you're not going to leave me with that Reject again, are you? He tells those… disturbing stories…"  
  
"No, no, not since last time no." Zim replied sternly as his communicator came out of his pod, "I'm not letting that Reject within ten miles of you again." he watched the communicator blink to life, and had a quick conversation with the being on the other end. Zib wandered over to Zim and tried to stand on his tip-toes to see into the communicator's monitor, cursing his height under his breath.  
  
"Look - Important thing for tonight, get over here right now… what? So what if it's on fire, let it burn out itself! Oh it's just a base you can make a new one… all right." it zipped away into his pod again. "Fires… bah." Zim looked down at Zib, "Your watcher shall be here within a short few minutes. Now I expect both you and Gir to be on your best behaviour. Got it?"  
  
"Yes, Mom," he mumbled, scowling at the ground and folding his arms in a pouty stance. He just hoped it wasn't his Aunt, who was even scarier than Poe.  
  
"You better be." Zim replied, then fixed his visor down over his eyes again. Zib grumbled and stuffed his gloved claws into his pockets, kicking an imaginary rock on the base floor, and started toward the elevator to get to the home level of the base to get in some TV watching before the sitter came. Zim sighed and looked at his watch,  
  
"ARGH! I'm late already!" he hurried up through the elevator, dragging Zib in. Zib yelped as he was dragged bodily. Once they climbed out the toilet, Zim ran into the lounge, and activated one of those floating floor thingies, and begins to rise up into the ceiling, he points down to Zib.  
  
"Be good! Remember that!" Zib shielded his glasses, looking up and watching Zim leave, mumbling some sort of affirmation before his mom disappeared.  
  
[To be continued!]


End file.
